The surname Abraham
A Latin patronymic surname, carried by 31,303 people in the United States.
Pronounced /ˈeɪ.bɹəˌhæm/ 3 syllables Soundex A165 Also a first name
Origin
Latin origin
From Middle English Abraham, from Old English Abraham, from Late Latin Ābrahām, from Ancient Greek Ἀβρᾱᾱ́μ (Abrāā́m), from Hebrew אַבְרָהָם ('aḇrāhām, “Abraham”). Thomas L. Thompson suggests that the meaning of the name in Genesis was forgotten due to its age and that its original meaning was "Father is exalted." Glossed as אַב (aḇ, “father of”) + הֲמוֹן (hăˈmōn, “multitude of”) in Genesis 17:4–5; or from Hebrew אַבְרָם ('aḇrām, “Abram”). Doublet of Ibrahim, Avraham, Abramo, and Abrahan.
Abraham 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 31,303 people named Abraham in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 9,863 Americans. That is up 22% since 2000, when the Census counted 25,729.
Who is named Abraham
Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census
45% of people named Abraham identified as white (not Hispanic), 26% as Asian and Pacific Islander and 20% as Black (not Hispanic).
- White (not Hispanic) 45%
- Asian and Pacific Islander 26%
- Black (not Hispanic) 20%
- Hispanic or Latino (any race) 6.0%
- Two or more races 2.1%
- American Indian and Alaska Native 0.7%
Famous Abrahams
10 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first
- F. Murray AbrahamAmerican actor (born 1939)
- David AbrahamArgentine professional footballer, born 1986
- Arthur AbrahamArmenian-German boxer, born 1980
- Spencer AbrahamAmerican attorney, author and politician (born 1952)
- Ralph AbrahamAmerican physician and congressman, born 1954
- Ralph AbrahamAmerican mathematician (1936–2024)
- Marc AbrahamAmerican Film producer, born 1949
- Raimund AbrahamArchitect (1933-2010)
- Lucas AbrahamAssociation football player, born 1979
- Josh AbrahamAmerican record producer, born 2000
Notable Abrahams come mostly from the United States (6), Argentina (2) and Germany (1).
Spellings and sound-alikes
Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling
Surnames that sound like Abraham
Abraham has the Soundex code A165, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code A165.
Other Latin surnames
Questions
- Where does the surname Abraham come from?
- From Middle English Abraham, from Old English Abraham, from Late Latin Ābrahām, from Ancient Greek Ἀβρᾱᾱ́μ (Abrāā́m), from Hebrew אַבְרָהָם ('aḇrāhām, “Abraham”). Thomas L. Thompson suggests that the meaning of the name in Genesis was forgotten due to its age and that its original meaning was…
- How common is the surname Abraham?
- 31,303 people in the United States had the surname Abraham in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 9,863 Americans. It ranked 1,120th of 162,253 surnames.
- What ethnicity is the surname Abraham?
- In the 2010 Census, 45% of people named Abraham identified as white (not Hispanic), and 26% as Asian and Pacific Islander.
- Who is the most famous person named Abraham?
- F. Murray Abraham, American actor (born 1939), followed by David Abraham.
- Where is the surname Abraham most common?
- Wikidata records people named Abraham in the United States, Argentina and Germany and 1 other country.
- How do you pronounce Abraham?
- Abraham is /ˈeɪ.bɹəˌhæm/, 3 syllables.
- What type of surname is Abraham?
- Abraham is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
- Is the surname Abraham getting more or less common?
- More common. 25,729 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 31,303 in 2010, up 22%.
- Is Abraham also a first name?
- Yes. Abraham 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.