Gamble
A surname that most likely began as a nickname-based patronymic, from the old personal name Gamel, meaning “old.”
The #1,024 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 9,079 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Gamble is generally taken as a surname formed from the old personal name Gamel or Gæmel, a northern English name used in the medieval period. That personal name goes back to a Germanic root meaning “old,” and it is closely related to Old English and Old Norse forms. In later use, the surname often picked up an intrusive b after m, producing the modern spellings Gamble and Gambles.
History
The name is especially associated with the north of England, where the older personal name survived longest. Historical spellings and related forms show up in medieval records, and later examples are found in places such as Cumberland and elsewhere in Britain. Bardsley also notes forms like Cammell as related, reflecting the same underlying name in altered spelling.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname is not originally about risking money: it is linked to a very old personal name meaning simply “old.”
From the historical record
“vrith many local names. The modern accepted surname form is Gamble and Gambles, the b being live after m, as in Gambling, Cammell is without question the same name. .. Garnet, 6 Hen. II: Whil.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances