DOBELL. Perhaps originally from the Roman personal name, Dolabella. The French have always been fond of adopting classical names, and this occurs as a surname in Normandy in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries in the form of Dolbell. In 1296, however, it is found in Sussex as De Dobel, implying a local origin, and in the sixteenth century the family ranked with the gentry of that county, bearing the canting arms of a Doe between three Bells.

Lower, Mark A (1860) Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom. London: J.R. Smith. Public Domain.