Baby name meaning

Abigail

My father is joy · French form of Hebrew origin

Meaning & origin

Abigail is a female name of French form of Hebrew origin, meaning “My father is joy”.

How popular is Abigail?

In England & Wales, Abigail ranked #154 among girls' names in 2024, with 331 babies given the name — down from #46 in 2014. Its strongest year in the England & Wales series is 2000, when it reached #19.

In the United States, Abigail was the #12 girls' name in the 2020 data, after peaking at #7 in 2010.

Abigail is a sharply American choice: #12 in the US against #154 in England & Wales.

Abigail — popularity rank over timePopularity rank of the girls' name Abigail over time, lower rank number = more popular. England and Wales annual rank 1996 to 2024. United States rank sampled one year per decade, 1950 to 2020.#1#10#100#1,00019501960197019801990200020102024US 1950: #824US 1960: #673US 1970: #526US 1980: #176US 1990: #90US 2000: #14US 2010: #7US 2020: #12England & Wales 2024: #154United StatesEngland & Wales
Abigail’s popularity rank over time — England & Wales annual rank (solid) and United States rank sampled once per decade (dashed), #1 at the top. Log scale: each gridline is 10× the rank above it.
Abigail in England & Wales: rank and births in sampled years, plus its peak year. Source: ONS ‘Baby names in England and Wales’.
YearE&W rankBirths
1996#212,595
2000#192,333
2005#202,461
2010#341,632
2015#511,131
2020#87586
2024#154331

Famous Abigails

Names that go well with Abigail

Gabriel

More on Abigail

A French-touched, ancient Hebrew name that translates, rather wonderfully, to 'my father is joy'.

Abigail: an old name that simply means joy — Abigail as our Name of the Day.

Swipe & match on Abigail in Settle