Gable is an English surname, either a variant of Gabel, from the German gabel meaining "fork." As a name it can mean either that the bearer lived at a fork in a road or river, that one made forks, such as pitchforks or other farm implements, or that the bearer came from one of several places called Gabel. Gable may also be from a medieval French diminutive of Gabriel, or from gobelier meaning "tax collector." Its most famous bearer is probably American actor Clark Gable (1901-1960).