Abigail
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The story
Abigail comes from Hebrew Avigayil, combining “father” and “joy,” traditionally rendered “my father is joy.” Its biblical bearer is remembered for preventing a violent encounter. In the First Book of Samuel, Nabal refuses supplies to David and his followers. Abigail, still Nabal’s wife at this point in the story, sends food on donkeys and goes to meet the armed men. She urges David not to take revenge. He accepts the provisions and acknowledges that she has prevented bloodshed. Only after Nabal’s death does the narrative make her David’s wife.
The much older Hebrew name became common in English after the Protestant Reformation and was favored by Puritans. It also acquired an unexpected place in ordinary English vocabulary. During the seventeenth century, an “abigail” could mean a female servant or lady’s maid. Historical dictionaries connect the usage with a servant named Abigail in Beaumont and Fletcher’s comedy The Scornful Lady. Name histories report a later decline in fashion and a twentieth-century revival, though that broad account does not show that every family reacted to the servant association in the same way.
Abigail Adams was the wife of John Adams and the mother of John Quincy Adams, both United States presidents, but her surviving letters preserve a political voice of her own. In March 1776, while John attended the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, she asked that the new laws protect women and limit husbands’ power. Her appeal placed women’s lack of representation alongside the colonies’ demand for independence. She also advocated education and property rights for women. While John was away, she raised their children, managed the farm and household, and sent him political reports from Massachusetts. The correspondence records the daily work that continued alongside the Revolution.
Abigail's name family
One shared root links 4 names in English.
Shared root: from Hebrew Avigayil "my father is joy", the quick-witted wife of King David
The family
More branches
How popular is Abigail around the world?
In the United States, 37,400 babies were named Abigail between 2020 and 2025. In Argentina, 3,298 newborns were given the name Abigail in 2024.
Abigail is on the official records of the United States, Argentina, South Australia, Mexico City, Canada, Chile, Scotland, New South Wales, New Zealand, Ireland, Puerto Rico, Norway, England and Wales, Austria, France, Spain, Poland, Brazil and Montevideo.
Abigail crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record and of a Spanish-speaking one. The full list: English and Spanish
United States
1 in 580
In the United States, 37,400 babies were named Abigail between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Abigail peaked in the 2000s and the 2010s in nearly equal measure. Abigail went to 12,432 US babies in 2015 and 4,941 in 2025, 40% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Argentina
1 in 200
In Argentina, 3,298 newborns were given the name Abigail in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
South Australia
1 in 4802017
In South Australia, 38 girls were registered as Abigail in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Mexico City City
1 in 520
In Mexico City, there were 224 registrations of Abigail in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (7 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Canada
1 in 610
In Canada, 597 girls named Abigail were born in 2024, the 25th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Chile
1 in 690
In Chile, 257 girls were registered as Abigail in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Scotland
1 in 1,100
In Scotland, 42 girls named Abigail were registered in 2024, the 102nd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
New South Wales
#55 · 2025
In New South Wales, 120 girls named Abigail were registered in 2025, ranked 55th in that year’s top 100 for girls.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
New Zealand
1 in 1,300
In New Zealand, 43 girls named Abigail were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Ireland
1 in 1,400
In Ireland, 40 girls named Abigail were born in 2025, the 115th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Puerto Rico
1 in 1,600
In Puerto Rico, 11 babies were named Abigail in 2025, and 603 have carried the name since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Norway
1 in 1,900register 2026
In Norway, 14 girls were given the name Abigail in 2025.
share of the girls on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
England and Wales
1 in 2,100
In England and Wales, 283 girls named Abigail were born in 2025, the 171st most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Austria
1 in 6,900
In Austria, 11 girls named Abigail were born in 2025, the 438th most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
France
1 in 9,900
In France, about 65 girls named Abigail were born in 2025, the 636th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Abigail, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Spain
1 in 11,000
In Spain, 4,053 residents are named Abigail, the 552nd most common name among women, with a mean age of 22.6 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Poland
1 in 16,000
In Poland, 15 girls named Abigail were born in 2025, the 298th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Brazil
1 in 20,000
At the 2022 census, 10,115 people in Brazil were named Abigail, ranked 1,701st, with a median age of 43.
Among people named Abigail living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1960s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 797 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Montevideo City
1 in 25,0002011
In Montevideo, 1 girl named Abigail was born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
When you meet Abigail
Most people given the name Abigail in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Where Abigail travels
Korean American · father's joy (Old Testament, wife of King David); a fast-rising choice among younger Korean American church families
Keep exploring
Names like Abigail · Names that go with Abigail · Nicknames for Abigail · Middle names for Abigail · Korean American baby names · Hebrew baby names · Climbers and fallers
The Abigail deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Abigail truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Abigail fits with your family’s names and surname.
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