The Maber Surname

The following may be of interest to those with the surname Maber or with relatives/ancestors that carried the name. Mostly it is a semi-academic study of the geographical distribution of the name but in addition there are some short accounts of notable Mabers through history and lists of first names that Maber boys and girls have been given in different periods.

The aim of the study is to track the distribution of people named Maber back through time, to assess the hypothesis that all Mabers are descended from one family, to find the family 'homeland' and to shed light on the origins of the name. Data was limited to that which is readily available via the Internet. This data is incomplete and transcriptions are not perfectly accurate but good enough to indicate general trends. No attempt was made to trace relationships between the individuals, but simply year and town/parish for each record. Maps were produced on large (A1) sheets of paper and so aren't included here but if I find a good way to scan them or reproduce them electronically I'll update this page.

British Telecom Residential Lines

The British Telecom web site was used county by county to produce a list of residential phone lines with the Maber surname across the UK. This doesn't include ex-directory Mabers and doesn't indicate the number of family members. Sixty four entries were found including one double barrelled name, Chalkly-Maber. Mabers are widely distributed but there are some patterns;

1. A swathe of Mabers from Plymouth, through Devon, Dorset, Hampshire and Surrey to London.

2. A swathe of Mabers up from London through the East Midlands up to Harrogate.

3. A grouping in Bristol and diffusely through Gloucestershire.

4. Two Mabers in Scotland but none in Wales, Channel Islands or Isle of Man.

A side study looked for Mabers in a number of foreign countries via international telephone directories.

Census for England, Wales and Channel Islands 1901

Census data is interesting because it indicates not only place of residence but also place of birth. Also, since family relationships are recorded the places of birth of a series of children sometimes indicates several points in a pattern of migration for the family. A number general observations can be made;

1. The majority of Mabers are in Dorset and coastal Hampshire.

2. Places of birth indicate much migration from place to place within this region.

3. There is some migration (return?) into the region from Ireland and from Jersey.

4. Migration out of the region goes into London, South Wales, the East Midlands and North Hampshire.

5. Another concentration of Mabers is in Bristol/Bath with migration to the Midlands and to London.

6. There are a number of Mabers concentrated in Liverpool, Widnes and Manchester. Place of birth data indicates origins in Ireland.

7. Of the small number of Mabers in Wales nearly half were born in England.

8. Many Mabers are living in London and most were born in London although others come from Dorset, Hampshire and Bath.

9. Two households in South Devon – Plymouth and Paignton.

In this map red circles are for males and green for female.

Census 1891, 1881, 1871

There is a strong suspicion the earlier on-line census data is more incomplete but some observations are possible;

1. The few Mabers in the Midlands don't seem to be present from one census to the next.

2. One family can be traced from Dorset to Hampshire to Ireland and back to Dorset by referring to places of birth of the head of family and the children.

3. Another can be traced from Bristol to Plymouth to Ireland and back to Plymouth.

4. Another family can be traced from Swansea to the Midlands, Durham and then Woking.

5. Although the 1901 census indicates a number of children older than 10 years born in Lancashire there are no Mabers listed in Lancashire in 1891 or 1881. The 1871 census does have a family of Irish origins in Liverpool. Sadly no census data is available for Ireland but a reasonable hypothesis is that Mabers entered Ireland from the South of England and that subsequently some Irish Mabers escaped the Potato famine and the Home Rule struggles by returning to England, mostly by the shortest route. (Perhaps others chose to emigrate further afield in the commonwealth at this time.)

6. Older census data shows Mabers living in Guernsey. This prompted a side study into possible alternate spellings. Telephone directory and census data shows the presence of Mabier, Mabiere and Mabire in the Channel islands including French Nationals. A study of the French telephone directory indicates the only surname with any similarity to Maber is Mabire. The vast majority of these live near the coast of Normandy or close to the Norman end of the Seine. Cherbourg, which is the nearest mainland city to the Channel Islands is where the densest concentration of Mabires live. Incidentally the most prominent contemporary Mabire is Halvard Mabire Helmsman for the Orange team and a photograph shows a distinct resemblance to male Mabers known to the author. One can't help hypothesising that Maber and Mabire surnames might share the same origins and that their respective 'homelands' may lie close to each other on either side of the Channel/ le Manche.

Birth Records 1838 – 1907

The source of birth records used in the study is not totally complete but covers the country reasonably well.

1. There is a large and long lasting population in London.

2. The South Dorset/South Hampshire Mabers are numerous and long lasting.

3. Together Bristol and Bath represent the third largest concentration of Mabers that lasts just as long.

4. In the earlier period there are births in Swansea but later births occur in Pontypridd.

5. Thinly spread Mabers are born in Plymouth, Birmingham, Salford, Newcastle and Thetford, among other places but year of birth data tends to suggest that this diaspora speeds up at the end of the 19^th century and start of the 20^th.

Ancient Parish and Probate Records 1569-1812

The earliest Mabers in the study were found by searching a wide range of records indexed by the ancestry.com web site. These represent miscellaneous data sources transcribed or indexed by genealogists. The coverage may be patchy but a test search with the surname Smith produced records right across the UK and so the absence of Maber records in a particular county would suggest that they really aren't present there. Duplicate records were deleted but all events were plotted including births, marriages and administration of wills.

1. Sixty records were plotted of which only 9 were placed outside of Dorset.

2. Outside of Dorset records were found for Rickinghall Suffolk (1); London (1); Ringwood Hampshire (1); South Somerset (2) [inc. a marriage in Martock 1590]; South Devon (5) including Plymouth (2).

3. Within Dorset the majority of records fill a triangle defined by Dorchester the county town, Bridport and Sherborne. (About 100 sq. miles.)

4. The greatest concentration and the earliest records are in the parish of Powerstock (modern spelling of Poorstock) and West Milton.

5. Outside of the Maber triangle but within Dorset there are records for Okeford Fitzpaine, Bloxworth, Poole and Lychett Maltravers. The most easterly records begin to appear in the 18^th century.

In the following map red circles are for records occurring from 1569 to 1698. Blue circles are for records from 1702 to 1812. This map omits five records in Devon, one in London and one in Suffolk.

Putting the Pieces Together

In the absence of a full genealogical study one can only reach conclusions based on judging likelihood but the following is reasonable based on the mass of data.

1. Mabers in 16^th century Dorset can probably trace back to a single family resident in South West Dorset.

2. Mabers in Great Britain up to the 19^th century can probably trace back to the Dorset Mabers.

3. Mabers in Lancashire in the early 20^th century may have 2 sources; a) they are descended from a branch of Dorset Mabers who emigrated to Ireland or b) the Maber spelling was invented on their appearance in England as a variation of Mayberry or similar.

4. Among the earliest records there are a number of Mabers in South Devon. Three explanations in order of highest probability to lowest are a) the 16^th century Devon Mabers are an offshoot of the Dorset Mabers, b) The family that started off the Dorset Mabers came from Devon and left some behind that failed to prosper or c) the Devon and Dorset Mabers are not related.

5. Most Mabers in Great Britain now can probably trace back to the 16^th century Dorset Mabers and others to the Irish Mabers in Lancashire.

6. Mabers living outside Great Britain might be able to trace their families back to the UK but should be careful. A great number of American surnames were invented by ignorant and impatient immigration officers on Ellis Island. For example there is evidence of immigrants from Russia who took the name Maber in the USA. Their original surname would have been spelled in the Cyrillic alphabet and may have been pronounced with distinctly Russian sounds.

Notable Mabers

Here are just a few stories revealed by Internet searching;

World War II – Lesley Maber

Lesley Maber was in le Chambon, France during the Nazi occupation and participated in the town's work of rescuing 5000 Jews, led by the Pastor Andre Trocme. For more information see the le Chambon website, click on people involved and then leaders for Lesley Maber's story. The moving story of the people of le Chambon and those who they helped is also told in the Chambon Foundation site. Like me you may come to the conclusion that genealogical connections can sometimes pale into insignificance – I'm glad to be even very distantly related to Lesley Maber but this is just the happy coincidence that led me to learn that it is possible for a town full of people to do the right thing in the face of terrifying danger.

Three Victorian Ladies in the Abode of Love

Census data reveals three Maber ladies, Elizabeth, Frances and Jane, two spinsters and one widow, resident at an unusual address in Somerset for much of the Victorian era. The address was 'The Agapemone', Spaxton, Somerset and the census shows that most of the forty odd 'members of household' were widowed or single women and that two priests in holy orders were in charge. This was in fact a notorious religious commune whose Greek name translates into English as 'abode of love'. The commune was founded and led by Rev. Henry Prince who came to refer to himself as 'The Holy Ghost'. For more information on the extraordinary history of Agapemone see the Utopia Britannica.

Two Cambridge Alumni

In the latter half of the 18^th century a Peter Maber is repeatedly listed in directories of tradesmen in London, first as Maber & Kentish, then as Maber & Co. and finally in his own right as Peter Maber, always trading at the same address No.2, Tobacco roll court, Gracechurch street, London. It seems likely that the family was a wealthy one and a son, George Martin Maber went up to Cambridge in 1784. George graduated BA in 1788 and MA in 1794. He was ordained into the church in Peterborough, took his first post in Wappenham Northamptonshire and spent most of his life as Rector of Merthyr Tydfil. He died aged 78 in 1844 in Swansea. In 1827 a John Maber born in Glamorganshire went up to Clare College Cambridge and graduated BA and then MA. It seems likely that John was a descendant of George, perhaps his son. Was George Martin Maber the first Maber to receive a university education? Was John the last Maber to graduate at Cambridge?

A Convict Maber

In 1834, at the age of 21 years a William Maber was sent to Australia on the ship Henry Tanner. William was born in Somerset and was a ladies boot and shoemaker by profession. He landed in New South Wales. Neither his crime nor his fate is indicated by the records but one can guess that some of the Mabers now living in Australia are his descendants.

Obstreperous Mabers

Census records for 1880 and 1890 at one particular address in Dorset present a puzzle. The address is Gass House, Sturminster, Dorset and the parents are Albert and Dinah but the children are harder to pin down. In 1880 the children, from oldest to youngest, are William, Ada, Albert, Adeline, Frederick and Elizabeth but in 1890 they are Walter, Achelius (a girl!), Charles, Marrion, Henry and another Walter! Looking at the ages it can be deduced that the eldest two in 1880, William and Ada, have left home and the youngest two in 1890 were born after the previous census but all four children that appear on both censuses have changed names. Albert jr. is now the older of the two Walters, Adeline is now Achelius, Frederick is Charles and Elizabeth is Marrion. This is either confusion in the parents about the names of their own children or a deliberate decision to confuse the census by giving false information. Knowing a number of modern day Mabers, neither would surprise me at all. My own grandfather was sent to the registry office with instructions to elegantly name his third daughter Cecily Nita Maber but by the time he got there it mutated to the considerably more down to earth Cissy Rita Maber. He probably used poor memory as an excuse!

Keeping the Name Alive

The 1901 census reveals the family that has contributed most to the propagation of the Maber name. Henry of Toller Porcorum, Dorset and Anne of Burnham, Suffolk produced Henry, Charles, Mark, Edward, John, Sidney and Hugh (from 11 years to 9 months in age). The eldest was born in Suffolk and the rest in Highclere, Hampshire where the family is resident at the time of the census. Perhaps there were more boys in later years! An interesting study would be to find all the Maber grandchildren of Henry and Anne.

International web sites list more notable Mabers including a Maber family living in Salem MA at the time of the witch trials.

The Origin of the Maber Name

The Oxford Dictionary of English Surnames has this entry;

Maber: Nathaniel Maber 1662-4 Hearth Tax Dorset.
From Mabor in Buckland Monachorum, Devon.

Mabor Farm does exist (OS Explorer Series Map OL20) in the parish of Buckland Monochorum, but is not a place name in its own right as it lies within the hamlet of Clearbrook. One assumes that it is mentioned in the detail of the Hearth Tax Return quoted as the earliest recorded Maber and this is the basis of the conclusion. There is on-line data that supports the hypothesis and other data that weakens the case. Against the hypothesis are the many records found via ancestry.com that predate the quoted hearth tax return by up to one hundred years. Supporting the hypothesis is a 17^th century entry in the Parish records of Buckland Monochorum that refers to the place name Maber – spelled like the surname and implying it is a place name rather than the name of a farm.

There is another plausible explanation that arises out of the occurrence of the name in the Channel Islands alongside apparently French versions of the same name. Could it be that Mabire is the Norman counterpart of the Dorset Maber? In the Channel Islands both appear along with Mabier and Mabiere. Could all these derive from the French word Marbrier meaning marble worker? This is listed as the origin of the now very rare English surname Marber (N.B. modern Marbers may be totally unrelated descendants of German and Polish immigrants) in the Oxford Dictionary of English Surnames;

Marber, Marbrow, Marbler: Reginald le Marbrer 1230 Pipe Rolls Essex; Godfrey le Marbeler alias le Marberer 1265 Inquisitiones post mortem Surrey; Walter le Marbeler, le Marbrer, le Marberer 1281, 1288 London Letter Books B, 1292 Subsidy Rolls London. Old French marbrier 'quarrier, hewer of marble', carver or worker in marble. At Westminster in 1385 Thomas Canon of Corfe, marbrer, was paid £30 6s 8d for making stone images in the likeness of kings, to stand in the Great Hall. Marble was also used for paving in churches, etc. In 1312 Adam le Marbrer undertook to pave part of St Paul's with squares of marble (Building 32, 147).

Pre conquest England had some very unimpressive churches and the pious William I started a major programme of church building to give thanks to god and perhaps more importantly to thank the pope for supporting the invasion. Prior to requesting the support of the pope William had also built many impressive churches in Normandy. So, the profession of marble worker was important in Normandy pre-conquest and a number must have travelled to England in the wake of the army to make up for a lack of master craftsmen in England.

There are other possibilities. For example there is another place name with the same pronunciation; Meyburgh in modern times is the name of a prehistoric henge near Penrith but historically it was a place name where in legend the kings of England, Scotland and the Western Britons (Welsh) met and agreed a peace treaty. Clearly Mabor farm in Devon is much closer to the Maber heartland of Dorset than Meyburgh Henge in Cumbria but it isn't impossible that a resident of Meyburgh travelled to the south coast and adopted his place of birth as a surname.

Some further research is possible. In particular, it would be interesting to look at the relationship of the name to similar names. There is some suspicion from a brief look at the data that some Maber descendants have ended up with the name Maybe or Mabe. On the other hand it is less likely that there is any connection with Mayberry or Mabury – it would be nice to support this assumption with evidence.

Maber First Names

Expectant Mabers might like to be guided by names that have been given to Mabers in the past.

Boys' Names

Girls' Names

Girls names for Maber children are listed – i.e. those who were named within Maber families and not married into them. Only Elizabeth, Louisa and Jane are consistently popular and the others follow changing fashions or perhaps popular names on the mother's side.

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