Family name origins & meanings
- Eastern German and Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic) : from Slavic sobol ‘sable’, Yiddish soybl, a type of marten with handsome black fur. As a German name this is either a nickname for someone thought to resemble a sable (for example, someone with sleek black hair), or an occupational name for a fur trader; as a Jewish name it is generally ornamental.