Bamble is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Langesund.

The Old Norse form of the name was Bamblar (a plural form). The name could be related to the word bembel m 'belly' (used in the meaning 'round hill/mountain'). The name was written "Bamle" in the period 1889-1917.

See also the name Bømlo.

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 12 December 1986. The arms show a gold-colored ship's wheel on a blue background. The arms are nearly identical to the former arms of Stathelle, which along with Langesund was merged with the municipality of Bamble at on 1 January 1964. Sailing and fishing have always been of great importance for the area, and a ship's wheel was thus an appropriate symbol.

The municipality of Bamble was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The lading place of Stathelle was separated from the municipality of Bamble in 1851. On 1 January 1964, the municipality of Bamble was merged with the neighboring municipalities of Stathelle and Langesund. The new municipality was named Bamble, the administrative centre was Langesund, and the coat-of-arms of Stathelle were used for the new municipality.

Bamble, lying at the southern tip of the Kongsberg-Bamble geological formation, also has a unique geology that has been extensively researched by geologists such as W. C. Brøgger. It exhibits a high grade gneiss terrane characterized by metasomatism. As such there have been many mines operating in the area, most notably the Ødegården Verk apatite mines and the nickel mines in Nystein.

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