I'll just quote someone from gamefaqs.
dukevesper posted...
You can but it has to be the same anabelle.
My Marcie moved in
Same Marcie moved to my sister's town
Same Marcie moved back into my town
The 16 villagers case only happens with different people's villagers if they are the same. (If someone has a villager you want that moved out of your town. It won't happen because it's not yours )
Hope this helped