But in the meantime I may refer to some other names which seem cast in the same form as Isabel; as for instance, Annabella, Arabella, Claribel, Christabel, and Rosabel. With regard to these names, I am disposed to come to the conclusion, that though moulded into the same shape, they are not by any means all of a similar origin. Annabella would be a very natural corruption of Amabilla, a name in the _Liber Vitæ_ of Durham. The same record contains, as names of women, Amabilis, Amabel, and Mabilla, of course from Latin _amabilis_--whence our Mabel, on this theory the same name as Annabella. Arabella, again, might be a corruption of the old Frankish Heribolda--_bold_, as an ending often changing into _bel_, as in our surnames Grimble and Wimble, from Grimbald and Winibald, and Tremble (most infelicitously), from Trumbald (A.S. _trum_, firm, strong). So, also, Claribel might be from an old Frankish Clarebalda, of which, however, we have only on record the masculine form, Clarebald. This appears to be from Latin _clarus_, illustrious, and is not the only case in which the old Franks at that period mixed up Latin and German in the same name. It is possible that Christabel might be from a similar origin; for the early Frankish converts at that period freely adopted the name of Christ, and mixed it up with German compounds, such as Cristhildis, a woman's name, from _hild_, war. But on the whole I am rather disposed to suggest a different origin for Christabel. Finding among the Franks at that period such names as Firmatus, Stabilis, Constabulis,[61] and the woman's name, Constabilla, in the sense, no doubt, of "established in the faith," it might not be unreasonable to suggest such a compound as Christabila, "established in Christ," as the origin of Christabel.[62] As to the last named, Rosabel, the ordinarily-received expression of "fair rose" would be a natural and graceful name for women if the French had to form names at a later period. But there is a woman's name, Rosibia, in the _Pol. Irminon_, which suggests a possible process like that in the case of Isabel--viz., a corruption into Rosibeau, and then a change into Rosibel. However, as in this case the connecting links are wanting, I can only put this forward as a conjecture. MAUD _properly a man's name. Its interchange with_ MATILDA _an ancient mistake_.