boy's name
Abel
AY-bel
- Origin Hebrew
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 4
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 102,128
the United States
#231
2025 births
Abel is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "breath" or "vapour." It comes from hevel, the same word Ecclesiastes uses for the fleeting nature of life — a name that foreshadows its bearer's story.
- Abel is a name of Hebrew origin.
- Peaked in 2015, when 3,255 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 2,167 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Abel over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 107 |
| 1890s | 118 |
| 1900s | 121 |
| 1910s | 559 |
| 1920s | 881 |
| 1930s | 939 |
| 1940s | 1,225 |
| 1950s | 2,088 |
| 1960s | 2,665 |
| 1970s | 3,539 |
| 1980s | 4,773 |
| 1990s | 6,496 |
| 2000s | 8,380 |
| 2010s | 23,596 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 10,711 |
What Abel means
Abel means breath, vapour or something fleeting. The Hebrew hevel describes what vanishes as you look at it, which is why the meaning reads as a comment on the life rather than a description of the person.
Where Abel comes from
Abel transliterates the Hebrew Hevel, breath or vapour. The same word opens Ecclesiastes — hevel havelim, usually rendered vanity of vanities but closer to breath of breaths, meaning fleeting rather than conceited. Given to Adam's second son, murdered by Cain, the name reads as deliberate foreshadowing by the writer. A separate Germanic Abel exists as a pet form of Albrecht, and the mathematical term abelian honors Niels Henrik Abel, the Norwegian mathematician who died at twenty-six.
Abel in use
Our data shows Abel peaking in 2015 and still rising, at 196 in England and Wales against 231 in the United States. It first appears in our records in 1880 and has never left them — unbroken use across a century and a half, which is rarer than a peak followed by a revival.
How popular is Abel?
In 2025, Abel was given to 1,530 babies in the United States, ranking #231 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Abel is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Abel
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Abel also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Abel over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Abel
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Abel in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Abel
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Abel — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Abel
What does the name Abel mean?
Abel means "breath" or "vapour," from the Hebrew hevel.
Is the meaning connected to his story?
It reads as deliberate. Hevel means something fleeting, and Abel is murdered by his brother early in Genesis.
Is Abel related to vanity of vanities?
Directly — Ecclesiastes uses the same word hevel, which means fleeting rather than conceited.
How popular is the name Abel?
In 2025, Abel was given to 1,530 babies in the United States, ranking #231 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Abel a girl's or a boy's name?
Abel is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Abel?
Abel has 2 syllables.
When was Abel most popular?
Abel peaked in 2015, when 3,255 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Abel?
Abel is usually shortened to Abe.
Is Abel a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Abel currently ranks #98 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.