Nameling

Abigail

Gender
Girl
Say it
AB-i-gayl
Origin
Hebrew
UK rank, 2025
#174 for girls
US rank, 2025
#41 for girls

Classic

Abigail is a girls' name of Hebrew origin, meaning “my father is joy”. In 2025 it ranked 174th for girls in the UK (330 babies) and 41st for girls in the US (4,941 babies).

What does Abigail mean?

Hebrew

“my father is joy”

In the Bible Abigail is a wife of King David, praised for her good sense and beauty.

More on Wiktionary.

Is Abigail a girl's or a boy's name?

Abigail is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 330 girls in the UK and 4,941 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.

How popular is Abigail in the UK?

Rank in 2025
#174among girls
Babies in 2025
330about 1 in 840 girls
Five-year trend
Fallingdown 48% in five years
Same name in a class
1.6%chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 330 girls in the UK were named Abigail, making it the 174th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 84th. Its busiest year was 2003, with 2,874 girls.

It has been given to fewer girls each year for the last 22 years. 2025 had the fewest girls named Abigail since the records began in 1996.

Half of all the girls named Abigail in the UK since 1996 were born between 2000 and 2011. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.

Among girls in 2025, it was 171st in England and Wales, 157th in Scotland and 96th in Northern Ireland.

In the England and Wales top 100 for girls, which the ONS has published every ten years since 1904: 1984 (#80), 1994 (#23), 2004 (#19) and 2014 (#46).

1996Busiest: 2,874 in 20032025
Abigail in the UK, year by year
YearGirlsRank
2025330#174
2024399#139
2023439#128
2022472#120
2021575#101
2020684#84
2019739#81
2018819#74
2017920#69
20161,170#58
20151,291#52
20141,352#48
20131,370#46
20121,474#45
20111,692#38
20101,843#38
20091,895#35
20082,230#29
20072,245#25
20062,350#24
20052,671#21
20042,866#20
20032,874#20
20022,490#23
20012,287#24
20002,443#23
19992,534#22
19982,612#26
19972,697#26
19962,700#21

How popular is Abigail in the US?

Rank in 2025
#41among girls
Babies in 2025
4,941about 1 in 330 girls
Five-year trend
Fallingdown 40% in five years
Same name in a class
4.2%chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 4,941 girls in the US were named Abigail, making it the 41st most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 12th. Its busiest year was 2003, with 15,932 girls.

It has been given to fewer girls each year for the last 10 years. 2025 had fewer girls named Abigail than any year since 1992.

Half of all the girls named Abigail in the US since 1880 were born between 1999 and 2014, the years shaded on the chart below.

1880Busiest: 15,932 in 20032025
Abigail in the US, year by year
YearGirlsRank
20254,941#41
20245,535#32
20235,687#31
20226,306#24
20216,993#17
20207,917#12
20199,196#11
20189,879#11
201710,645#10
201611,796#8
201512,422#7
201412,114#8
201312,429#8
201212,730#7
201113,266#7
201014,257#7
200914,401#8
200815,088#8
200715,476#8
200615,633#6
200515,756#4
200415,436#6
200315,932#6
200215,303#7
200114,807#8
200013,094#14
199911,686#18
199811,100#18
19979,630#26
19968,604#32
19957,825#36
19947,243#42
19935,185#67
19923,988#86
19913,799#92
19903,719#90
19893,405#94
19882,376#118
19872,001#138
19861,996#143
19851,848#153
19841,844#154
19831,909#151
19821,886#157
19811,816#156
19801,577#176
19791,226#213
19781,010#242
1977794#298
1976827#278
1975615#353
1974606#357
1973479#413
1972393#468
1971392#491
1970362#526
1969281#590
1968263#592
1967244#609
1966191#710
1965209#679
1964244#655
1963255#633
1962264#617
1961232#680
1960228#673
1959206#698
1958192#711
1957187#730
1956190#693
1955180#699
1954147#772
1953169#704
1952151#722
1951137#748
1950112#823
1949113#822
194872#1,040
194778#1,002
194676#952
194553#1,079
194456#1,045
194363#996
194248#1,137
194140#1,184
194048#1,035
193953#974
193850#1,007
193745#1,063
193636#1,186
193537#1,162
193430#1,317
193332#1,262
193230#1,346
193127#1,420
193025#1,568
192933#1,305
192840#1,209
192733#1,403
192630#1,482
192537#1,296
192431#1,503
192332#1,428
192229#1,536
192124#1,765
192033#1,375
191931#1,393
191826#1,566
191741#1,110
191637#1,167
191538#1,094
191425#1,228
191314#1,601
191224#1,055
191118#1,031
191016#1,110
190912#1,219
190813#1,135
190712#1,142
190615#965
190511#1,162
19048#1,363
190320#760
190218#818
190113#918
190014#1,007
18997#1,277
189811#1,047
189715#826
189615#843
189515#815
189413#850
189321#630
189211#908
189111#839
18909#940
188920#567
188818#593
188713#633
188615#572
18859#745
188413#583
188311#579
188214#493
18818#623
188012#492

Nicknames for Abigail

Names like Abigail

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Jessica Molly Leah Amber Jasmine Hannah Francesca Chloe Emily Zoe Ellie Holly

Other spellings of Abigail

Abbigail Abigale Abygail Abbygail Abagail Abbigale Abbygale

Names related to Abigail

Abigael Abigayle Abbiegail Abigaelle

More Hebrew names

Noah Isabella Elijah James Jack Mia Ava Jude Ezra Benjamin Isaac Jacob Ethan Daniel Samuel Elias

Every Hebrew name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Abigail: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/abigail, updated 20 October 2026.