ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1481
http://www.s-gabriel.org/1481
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14 Jan 1999
From:  (Josh Mittleman)


Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!

You asked for the origin of the surname <Keeble>.  This letter is a brief
answer to your question.

We found three possible origins for this surname; without researching your
ancestry, there's no way to know which one is actually the source of your
name.  There could also be other possible origins that we didn't find.

The English given name <Keeble> is a modern spelling of a name that
appeared as <Chebbel> around 1095, <Kebbel> in 1214, <Kibel> in 1275,
<Kybbel> in 1327, and <Kebull> in 1524.  This name derives from the Old
English word <cybbel> "cudgel", probably used for a cudgel-maker or perhaps
as a description for a strong, sturdy man [1].

<Keeble> could also be a variant of the German <Kiebel>, <Kiebler>, which
derives from a word meaning "tubmaker, cooper" [2].  Many American
immigrants had their surnames mangled by immigration officials, so it is
entirely possible that an American <Keeble> could have arisen from this
German source.

A less likely, but still possible source is the medieval Dutch surname
<Kibler>, <Kiebler>, possibly derived from the word <kibbelen> "to quarrel,
haggle> [3, 4].


We hope this brief letter has been useful.  Please write us again if you
have any questions.  I was assisted in researching and writing this letter
by Maridonna Buonvenuti and Walraven van Nijmegen.

For the Academy,


  Arval Benicoeur
  14 Jan 1999


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References

[1] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_
(London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.n. Keeble.

[2] Bahlow, Hans, _Dictionary of German Names_, tr. Edda Gentry
(German-American Cultural Society, 1994 ISBN: 0924119357), s.n.Kiebler,
Kiebel, Ku:bler.

[3] Verdam, J., _Middelnederlandsch Handwoordenboek_ (Leiden, Antwerpen:
Martinus Nijhoff, repr. 1981), s.n. kibbelen.

[4] Debrabandere, F., _Kortrijkse Naamkunde 1200-1300, met een kumulatief
familienamenregister_, Anthrophonymica XXII (Leuven : Instituut voor
Naamkunde : Peeters, 1980).