Sabine Schmitz, from richardf1.com
I had originally planned to publish an Alternative Long Forms for Lou post for today, as a part of tomorrows Birthday celebrations. I decided against it following Abby’s post on Getting to Lulu earlier on this month. So, we’re turning the tables to instead look at ways to get to Abby, because you can never have too many 
Alberta/Albertine
Every year I receive a Christma card from family friends Pat and Albert – and I’ve heard a rumour that my Grandad has an Uncle Albert. Rumour? Yes, my Grandad rarely speaks about his family but if I do remember correctly it seems everyone used to call him Bob.
Is the name Alberta hopelessly out-of-fashion? Most would say yes, but some are charmed by this quality. The name does possess a rather lovely meaning, however. It comes from the Germanic name Adalbert, composed of two Germanic elements:
- adal, meaning noble
- beraht, meaning bright
Annabel et al
The name Annabelle entered the England&Wales Top 100 for 2010, which at the time I speculated to myself about whether that had anything to do with the recently rebooted St. Trinians film series.
The name Annabel is a variant of Amabel, which means lovable in Latin. It’s from these sources that we also get the name Mabel, which could also lead nicely to the nickname Abby.
Christabel
One part Christina, one part Annabel. Infact, the name is actually just a slight variant of the name Christina. It’s not a new coinage, however, as way back in 1800 Samuel Coleridge published a poem entitled Christabel.
Isabeau
An old variation of Isabel which has fallen mostly out of use of late. One could suppose that Isabella et al also apply here, and either way both are simply international forms of the name Elizabeth, which means my God is my oath.
Mirabelle
Comes from the Latin word mirabilis, which means wonderful. It is also the French word for plum.
Sabine
You may or may not be aware of Sabine Schmidz, a German motor racing driver. She’s been accredited with the title of Queen of the Nurburgring – which is a motor racing track in Germany and now co-presents the German car show D Motor.
Sabine is the French and German form of the name Sabina. In days gone by, the Sabines were an ancient people who lived in central Italy until their land was taken over by the Romans following years of conflict. According to legend, the Romans abducted several Sabine women during a raid, and when the men came to rescue them, the women were able to make peace between the two groups.
Sabrina
Most will link this name to the original Welsh name of the River Severn: Habren. It was also the name of the Princess who was drowned in the Severn, and thus supposedly the river is named in her honour – but it is much more likely that her name came from the river, not the other way around.
Tabitha
We started on a name which suffers from being too associated with the elder generation, and we finish with a name that is beginning to shake off those associations. The name Tabitha was chosen by Sarah Jessica Parker for the name of one of her twin girls – the other being named Marion Loretta. The name Tabitha means gazelle in Aramaic- not so clunky looking now is it!
