This name may be a variation of Dolbet and Dolbec, both of which are found in Normandy, and may be derived from the Germanic words for deep stream.
Early records
The Dolbel family is said to have arrived in the Channel Islands as part of the first wave of Huguenot refugees. That was not until after 1572, however, and there were Dolbels in Jersey well before then. Jacques Dolbel, of St Ouen, was one of the 40 settlers who helped Helier De Carteret colonise Sark in 1565. He was tenant of Clos de Menage quarantaine and served as a Jurat in the Chief Pleas in 1579. Members of the Dolbel family lived in Sark until 1823.
Other early findings of the name
▪ Benjamin Dolbel (1514- ) Trinity m (1557) Esther Marett, d of Jourdain
▪ Perronelle Dolbel (1442-1470) d of Jehan (1418- ) m Richard Jutize
▪ Katherine Dolbel (1547-1575), d of Thomas (1520-1552) and Catherine Hubert, married Hugh Yden (1551-1607)
The earliest references in Guernsey were when Daniel Dolbel was minister of St Pierre du Bois and Torteval between 1596 and 1605. It is highly likely that he was a Huguenot refugee.
The surname has now died out in Guernsey and Sark, but descendents can still be found in Jersey.