Recorded in many spelling forms including Mabb, Mabbs, Mabbet, Mabbett, Mabert, Mabbut, Mabutt, Mabbutt, Mapp, Mapson, Mabson and even Mobbs, this is an English medieval surname, although arguably of French origins. It is one of the forms of the medieval female given name "Mab" or "Mabbe", itself a short form of the first name "Amabel". This was a personal name introduced into England by the Normans after the Conquest of 1066, and was adopted from the Latin "amabilis", meaning "loveable". The personal name has survived into the 20th Century in the form of "Mabel". That Mab(be) was a popular given name during the Middle Ages is borne out by the number and variety of surnames it has generated. Early examples of the surname recording taken from surviving rolls and charters include John Mabbys in the Subsidy Rolls of Bedford in 1309, William Mabotson in the Poll Tax Returns of Yorkshire in 1379, and Richard Mabot of Oxford in 1509. In the surviving registers of the diocese of Greater London Gilbert Mabbott, the son of Gilbert and Martha Mabbott, was christened at St Margarets, Westminster, on February 3rd 1648, and the marriage of John Mabbet and Mary Lure took place at the same church on September 22nd 1653. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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