The surname Abel
A Latin patronymic surname, carried by 18,464 people in the United States.
Pronounced /ˈeɪ.bl̩/ 2 syllables Soundex A140 Also a first name
Origin
Latin origin
From Middle English Abel, from Old English Ābel, from Latin Abel, from Ancient Greek Ἅβελ (Hábel), from Biblical Hebrew הֶבֶל (Héḇel, “Abel”), possibly from the homonymous word הֶבֶל (heḇel, “breath, vapor; vanity”) or from Akkadian 𒌉𒍑 (ablu, “son”).
Abel is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
One of 91 Latin surnames on this site.
Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How common it is
2010 US Census
There were 18,464 people named Abel in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 16,721 Americans. That is up 1.2% since 2000, when the Census counted 18,243.
Who is named Abel
Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census
88% of people named Abel identified as white (not Hispanic), 4.9% as Black (not Hispanic) and 3.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
- White (not Hispanic) 88%
- Black (not Hispanic) 4.9%
- Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3.3%
- Two or more races 1.7%
- Asian and Pacific Islander 0.9%
- American Indian and Alaska Native 0.9%
Famous Abels
15 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first
- Jake AbelAmerican television actor, born 1987
- Frederick AbelBritish chemist 1827-1902
- John Jacob AbelAmerican biochemist and pharmacologist (1857–1938)
- Edmilson Carlos AbelBrazilian association football player, born 1974
- Hazel AbelAmerican politician (1888-1966)
- Walter AbelAmerican actor (1898-1987)
- Josef AbelAustrian painter, etcher (1764–1818)
- Zachary AbelAmerican television actor, born 1980
- Ramon Abatti AbelBrazilian football referee, born 1989
- Karl von AbelBavarian statesman (1788-1859)
- Alan AbelAmerican percussionist (1928-2020)
- Alan Abel(1924-2018) American prankster
Notable Abels come mostly from the United States (8), Brazil (2) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1).
Spellings and sound-alikes
Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling
Other Latin surnames
Questions
- Where does the surname Abel come from?
- From Middle English Abel, from Old English Ābel, from Latin Abel, from Ancient Greek Ἅβελ (Hábel), from Biblical Hebrew הֶבֶל (Héḇel, “Abel”), possibly from the homonymous word הֶבֶל (heḇel, “breath, vapor; vanity”) or from Akkadian 𒌉𒍑 (ablu, “son”).
- How common is the surname Abel?
- 18,464 people in the United States had the surname Abel in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 16,721 Americans. It ranked 1,958th of 162,253 surnames.
- What ethnicity is the surname Abel?
- In the 2010 Census, 88% of people named Abel identified as white (not Hispanic), and 4.9% as Black (not Hispanic).
- Who is the most famous person named Abel?
- Jake Abel, American television actor, followed by Frederick Abel.
- Where is the surname Abel most common?
- Wikidata records people named Abel in the United States, Brazil and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and 3 other countries.
- How do you pronounce Abel?
- Abel is /ˈeɪ.bl̩/, 2 syllables.
- What type of surname is Abel?
- Abel is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
- Is the surname Abel getting more or less common?
- More common. 18,243 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 18,464 in 2010, up 1.2%.
- Is Abel also a first name?
- Yes. Abel is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.