Annabella

Annabella (f) Gaelic Anabla, also Barabal, perhaps
through confusion with Barbara. A name well known in
Scottish history as Annabel or Anriabella. The mother
of James I of Scotland, for example, was Annabel Drum-
mond. The name has been consistently but quietly used
by Scottish parents in the last hundred years, with Anna-
belle as a new variation.

Former pronunciation of the name is indicated by Annaple, a name given by Scott to characters in The Heart of Midlothian (1818) and The Black Dwarf (1816). Poe’s Annabel Lee made the name known in North America, but it has not been frequently used there. As for its origin, it could simply have been an invention, meant to imply ‘beautiful Anna,’ or it could be a mistaken form of Amabel, ‘lovable.

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