Frequency: (682)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
1. German: from a pet form of the Germanic personal name Habo, a short form of various compound names formed with had(u) ‘battle’, ‘strife’.
2. Dutch: topographic name from abeel, denoting a type of poplar tree.
3. Dutch: from the personal name Abel (see Abel).
4. Czech and German: Germanized variant of Czech Havel, from the saint's name Gallus ‘Gall’.
GIVEN NAMES: German 5%. Kurt (2), Theodor (2), Berthold, Eberhard, Heinz, Mathias, Ulrike.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
