The Preble Name


George Henry Preble, Genealogical Sketch of the First Three Generations of Prebles in America (Boston 1868), p. 11
"Abraham Preble and his immediate descendants in this country usually wrote their names with two b's--Prebble, as it is written at the present time by those bearing the name in England.  Occasionally it is found written Prebel, and Prebell, which furnishes a key to its popular pronunciation.  The name is said to have been originally Preville, and of Norman origin.  Christopher Prebble, writing from No. 5 Covington terrace, Brompton, London, in 1863, asserts such is the family tradition, and by way of confirmation adds: "All the Prebbles in England are of a dark complexion."




Charles Edward Banks, History of York, Maine Vol. 1 (Boston 1931, 1935) (3rd Printing, 1990) , p. 146
"The origin of the name is obscure. The Oxford Dictionary gives the word as meaning gravel, and uses as illustrations early instances of it in 1541, "a certain barre of prebill driven in at Dover." and in 1577 "claye, preble or carbuncle" is mentioned in Googe's Husbandry (i, 17).  Another theory derives it from a French town named Preville.  The spelling of the name from earliest times has been singularly consistent, varying only in doubling the consonants b and l in lessening frequency to the present time.  It is found in Prebbil, Prebyll, Prebell, Pribble and Prybell, but for three centuries past it has not changed from the form in which the emigrant wrote it.  There is one singular fact that in Kent, even in parishes where Prebles lived, occurrences of the name of Treble is found, apparently a distinct family."



A Dictionary of Surnames,  © Patrick Hanks and Flavia Hodges (Oxford University Press, 1989) (Cited at Ancestry.com)

English (chiefly Kent): of uncertain origin. It may be a habitation name from a Norman place named with the elements Pré + Ville, but this theory has not been supported by evidence in the shape of early forms.


Dictionary of American Family Names, Patrick Hanks, ed.  (Oxford University Press, 2003) (Cited at Ancestry.com)

English: unexplained. It may be a variant of a medieval name, Preville, a habitational name from a Norman place named with the elements pré ‘meadow’ + ville ‘settlement’. However, this theory is not supported by evidence of early forms.


Notes on Thomas PribbleBob Minteer, quoting Mrs. Robert Buxton, "The Pribbles of Kentucky", Kentucky Ancestors, 1976 v.12-1, p.19-23

"As early as 1333 the name appears in Strode, Kent Fines, William Prybel and wife Joan, and is not found in the early records in any other English County."







Examples of Spelling Variations
for the Preble/Prebble name
  
1880 Census
FHL Film 1255358; National Archives Film T9-1358; Page 211B
Census Place: Seneca, Campbell, Virginia
Note: Three different spellings of name in same household.


T homas Prebble Husband
Nancy C. Prebble
Wife
Martha W. Pribbles
Thomas' mother
Boroling H. Pribble
Child of T/N
Martha F. Pribble
Child of T/N
Henry W. Pribble
Child of T/N
Sarah D. Pribble
Child of T/N
Levet Earl Pribble
Child of T/N
GHP* 23  
Joseph Preble will, April 24, 1732
Note: Three different spellings of name in same household, including two for the same person.


"I, Joseph Pribble . . ."
"my . . . wife Ann Prible"
"my son Joseph Preble"
[Signature] "Joseph Preble"
GHP 34
Samuel Came's attestation of Benjamin Preble's signature on his will,  Sept. 24, 1729
"Bengmen Prebel"
GHP 44-5
Boston Gazette article, Sept. 3, 1754
"Col. [Jedidiah] Prebble"
GHP 47
GHP 48
Jedidiah Preble letter to Col. Winslow, Aug. 25, 1755
Jedidiah Preble letter to Col. Winslow, Sept. 5, 1755
[Signed] "Prebble"
[Signed] "Preble"
GHP 53
The Gentleman's Magazine, June 1775, p. 297, vol. 45
"Col. Pribble has issued . . . orders"
GHP 116
Commission as Lt. Colonel, April 23, 1754, Massachusetts Bay
Jedidiah Prebble
GHP 117
Commission as Colonel, March 13, 1758, Massachusetts Bay
Jedidiah Prebble
GHP 118
Commission as Brig. General, March 12, 1759, Massachusetts Bay
Jedidiah Preble
Internet
Vital Records of Walpole, MA to 1850 - Births
Joshua and Sarah Preble's children:
  • Rachel Prebel, b. Jan. 10, 1751
  • Esther Preble, b. Feb. 12, 1752 
  • Elizabeth Pribbel, b. May 6, 1754 
  • Pricilla Pribble, b. Feb. __, 1757 
  • Jemimah Pribbel, b. Jan. __, 1760
  • Keziah Pribbel, b. May __, 1767
Internet
Vital Records of Walpole, MA to 1850 - Births

Vital Records of Walpole, MA to 1850 - Deaths
Abraham and Elizabeth Pribbel's children:
  • [torn]os Pribel, (son) , b. June 7, 1750
  • Abraham Pribble, b. Oct. 27, 1753
  • Elizabeth Pribel, b. Aug. 5, 1754
    • Elizabeth Pribble, d. Jan. 8, 1757
  • Jemimah Pribbel, b. Apr. 27, 1756
    • Jemimah Pribbel, d. June, 1758
  • Abigail Pribble, b. Sept. 22, 1761

                *George Henry Preble, Genealogical Sketch of the First Three Generations of Prebles in America (Boston 1868)



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