Hannibal Family History

German: from a post-humanist personal name Hannibal (see 2 below). English: post-medieval variant of Annable from Middle English Amabil Annabel. This female personal name fell out of fashion in the late Middle Ages and the source of the surname was no longer recognized.

It was re-interpreted in the 16th century by classically educated gentlemen as being the name of the Carthaginian general Hannibal (247–182 BC). The surname was also sometimes later re-etymologized as honey + ball or bell hence spellings such as Honeyball and Hunnibell.

In this new guise, it coincided with an established variant of Annable with initial H-.