The surname of AMBLER was an occupational name meaning 'the keeper of the stables' one who looked after the horses, and taught them to amble. The earliest of the name on record appears to be William le Amayler, who was recorded in London in the year 1303. Occupational surnames originally denoted the actual occupation followed by the individual. At what period they became hereditary is a difficult problem. Many of the occupation names were descriptive and could be varied. In the Middle Ages, at least among the Christian population, people did not usually pursue specialized occupations exclusively to the extent that we do today, and they would, in fact, turn their hand to any form of work that needed to be done, particularly in a large house or mansion, or on farms and smallholdings. In early documents, surnames often refer to the actual holder of an office, whether the church or state. Later instances of the name include William le Amblur of Yorkshire, who was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379, and Edward Ambler appears in County Lancashire in 1400. Many factors contributed to the establishment of a surname system. For generations after the Norman Conquest of 1066 a very few dynasts and magnates passed on hereditary surnames, but the main of the population, with a wide choice of first-names out of Celtic, Old English, Norman and Latin, avoided ambiguity without the need for a second name. As society became more stabilized, there was property to leave in wills, the towns and villages grew and the labels that had served to distinguish a handful of folk in a friendly village were not adequate for a teeming slum where perhaps most of the householders were engaged in the same monotonous trade, so not even their occupations could distinguish them, and some first names were gaining a tiresome popularity, especially Thomas after 1170. The hereditary principle in surnames gained currency first in the South, and the poorer folk were slower to apply it. By the 14th century however, most of the population had acquired a second name. Later instances of the name include Martha Ambler who was baptised at St. James's, Clerkenwell, London in the year 1632, and Johy Keys and Martha Ambler were married at St. Dionis Backchurch, London in 1656.