# Abigail (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/abigail/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Hebrew |
| Meaning | “abigail”, “my father's joy”, “fountain of joy” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈæb.ə.ɡeɪl/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | Abbey, Abbi, Abby, Abi, Gail, Abbie, Abs, Nabby, Abbs, Abbee |
| Variant spellings | Abigaille, Gayle, Avigail |
| US babies named this | 413,935 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 672 / 413,263 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 45,941, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Hebrew אֲבִיגַיִל (avigáyil, “Abigail”, literally “my Father's joy” or “fountain of joy”).

## What it means

Abigail is grouped under joy.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 13,266 | 7 |
| 2012 | 12,730 | 7 |
| 2013 | 12,429 | 8 |
| 2014 | 12,114 | 8 |
| 2015 | 12,422 | 7 |
| 2016 | 11,796 | 8 |
| 2017 | 10,645 | 10 |
| 2018 | 9,879 | 11 |
| 2019 | 9,196 | 11 |
| 2020 | 7,917 | 12 |
| 2021 | 6,993 | 17 |
| 2022 | 6,306 | 24 |
| 2023 | 5,687 | 31 |
| 2024 | 5,535 | 32 |
| 2025 | 4,941 | 41 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 20 | 4,716 |
| 2009 | 16 | 5,557 |
| 2010 | 9 | 8,151 |
| 2011 | 21 | 4,509 |
| 2012 | 13 | 6,310 |
| 2013 | 16 | 5,406 |
| 2014 | 13 | 6,312 |
| 2015 | 10 | 7,496 |
| 2016 | 10 | 7,609 |
| 2017 | 6 | 10,790 |
| 2018 | 13 | 6,352 |
| 2019 | 11 | 7,178 |
| 2021 | 6 | 10,816 |
| 2022 | 6 | 10,885 |
| 2023 | 9 | 8,266 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1,493 | 38 |
| 2012 | 1,316 | 44 |
| 2013 | 1,191 | 46 |
| 2014 | 1,181 | 46 |
| 2015 | 1,131 | 51 |
| 2016 | 1,023 | 58 |
| 2017 | 782 | 73 |
| 2018 | 690 | 77 |
| 2019 | 634 | 83 |
| 2020 | 586 | 87 |
| 2021 | 494 | 105 |
| 2022 | 393 | 128 |
| 2023 | 373 | 134 |
| 2024 | 331 | 154 |
| 2025 | 283 | 171 |

## In other languages

- Catalan: Abigail
- Danish: Abigail, Abigael
- Dutch: Abigail, Abigaïl
- French: Abigaïl, Abigaël, Abigaëlle
- German: Abigail
- Hebrew: אביגיל
- Hindi: अबीगैल
- Hungarian: Abigél
- Italian: Abigaille
- Polish: Abigail
- Portuguese: Abigail
- Russian: Абиге́ль, Абиге́йл, А́биге́л, Э́бигейл
- Spanish: Abigaíl, Abigail
- Swedish: Abigail

## People named Abigail

- Abigail Adams, First Lady of the United States from 1797 to 1801
- Abigail Breslin, American actress
- Abigail Johnson, American businesswoman, business executive, heiress, billionaire
- Abigail Fillmore, First Lady of the United States from 1850 to 1853
- Abigail Spanberger, American politician and former intelligence officer (born 1979)
- Abigail Spencer, American actress
- Abigail Spears, American tennis player
- Abigail Cowen, American actress
- Abigail Masham, Baroness Masham, English Lady of the Bedchamber
- Abigail Mac, American pornographic actress (b. 1988)
- Abigail Strate, Canadian ski jumper
- Abigail Dillen, executive, attorney and climate activist

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.