Abigail
Meaning
"my father's joy," from the Hebrew Avigayil, the quick-witted wife of David in the Bible; a Puritan favorite that fell out of use when "abigail" became slang for a lady's maid, then returned in the 1970s to become a modern staple. Abby for short
The story
Abigail comes from the Hebrew Avigayil, my father's joy, and belongs in the Bible to the quick-witted wife of David, remembered for talking an armed war band out of vengeance with sheer eloquence. The Puritans loved it for exactly that story, but the name paid a strange price for its popularity: playwrights used Abigail so often for servant characters that the word became slang for a lady's maid, and polite use faded for generations. Abigail Adams, the sharp-penned wife of one president and mother of another, kept its dignity alive in America. The US curve tells the comeback plainly: modest around 1900, nearly dormant through midcentury, then a steady climb back that crested through the 2000s and 2010s before easing a little. It now feels like what it always was, a smart, sturdy classic, with Abby waiting inside.
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
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Abigail peaked in the 2000s and the 2010s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
10,115 people · the #1,701 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 20,000 · median age 43
Among people named Abigail living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1960s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 797 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
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.
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.
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 · Nicknames for Abigail · Middle names for Abigail · Korean American baby names · Hebrew baby names
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