girl's name
Abigail
AB-ih-gayl
- Origin Hebrew
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 7
- Popularity Top 100 (US)
- Births on record 496,942
the United States
#41
2025 births
Abigail is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "my father's joy," from Avigayil. In the First Book of Samuel she is a woman of notable intelligence who intervenes to prevent bloodshed and later becomes one of David's wives.
- Abigail is a name of Hebrew origin.
- Peaked in 2003, when 15,955 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 671 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Abigail 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 | 133 |
| 1890s | 128 |
| 1900s | 136 |
| 1910s | 270 |
| 1920s | 322 |
| 1930s | 365 |
| 1940s | 647 |
| 1950s | 1,671 |
| 1960s | 2,411 |
| 1970s | 6,710 |
| 1980s | 20,775 |
| 1990s | 72,926 |
| 2000s | 151,185 |
| 2010s | 118,856 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 37,400 |
What Abigail means
Abigail means "my father is joy" or "my father's joy," combining the Hebrew av, father, with gil, joy or rejoicing. It expresses a parent's delight rather than describing the child, a common pattern among Hebrew names built on family terms.
Where Abigail comes from
Abigail comes from the Hebrew Avigayil, from av, father, and gil, joy. The biblical Abigail appears in First Samuel as the wife of Nabal, a wealthy and difficult man; when he refuses to help David's men, she intervenes with supplies and a carefully judged speech that averts a massacre, and the text praises her intelligence directly. After Nabal's death she marries David. The name entered English use after the Reformation, but a curious secondary development followed: a servant character named Abigail in a 1616 play by Beaumont and Fletcher was so widely recognized that abigail became an ordinary English noun for a lady's maid, a usage that persisted into the nineteenth century.
Abigail in use
For two centuries abigail was an ordinary English word for a lady's maid, taken from a stage character.
How popular is Abigail?
In 2025, Abigail was given to 4,941 babies in the United States, ranking #41 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Where Abigail 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.
How Abigail is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Abigaïl | Abigaïl is Abigail written with a diaeresis, used in France, where it ranks #707. | 900 |
Names that peaked alongside Abigail
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Abigail also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Abigail over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
4 nicknames for Abigail
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.
Abigail 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 Abigail
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Abigail — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Abigail
What does the name Abigail mean?
Abigail means "my father's joy," from the Hebrew Avigayil.
Who was Abigail in the Bible?
Abigail appears in First Samuel as an intelligent woman who prevents bloodshed and later marries David.
What are nicknames for Abigail?
Abby, Abbie, and Gail are the most common short forms.
How popular is the name Abigail?
In 2025, Abigail was given to 4,941 babies in the United States, ranking #41 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Is Abigail a girl's or a boy's name?
Abigail is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Abigail?
Abigail has 3 syllables.
When was Abigail most popular?
Abigail peaked in 2003, when 15,955 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
Is Abigail a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Abigail currently ranks #25 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.