Abner

AB-ner

Hebrew

"father of light."

Abner Origin and Meaning

The name Abner is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "father of light.".

This once neglected Biblical name is back on the scene, ready to shake off both its association with the long running satirical comic strip, L'il Abner and its historical Puritan image. The name appears in the Bible several times, notably on the cousin and commander of Saul's army and by two figures in the New Testament. It re-entered the US Top 1000 in 2023, and was a fast rising choice in 2024 when it was given to nearly 300 boys.

Derived from the elements av and ner, it means "father of light" or "my father is a light", lending it a strong sense of spirituality and the possibility of working to a strong parental figure too. Moreover, while it is a Biblical choice, like the popular Asher, it shares that -er ending of modern, occupational names like Cooper or Carter, giving it an extra layer of appeal.

The name has several literary credentials, having appeared in works by James Fenimore Cooper, Thomas Hardy and Eugene O'Neill and was also borne by Abner Doubleday, who has been credited with inventing baseball.

Abner Rank in US Top 1000

# 837 in the US

Abner Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 941 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Abner

• 837 US 2024
• 941 Nameberry 2025
• 113 Unique 2022
• 773 Future 2028

20 Names Similar to Abner

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Abner.

• Errol
• Boaz
• Fitzwilliam
• Fergus
• Gulliver
• Irving
• Sinclair
• Enoch
• Warwick
• Aldo
• Hiram
• Laurie
• Ives
• Bram
• Crispin
• Laszlo
• Guthrie
• Beauregard
• Ogden
• Tadhg

Famous People Named Abner

• Abner Doubleday U.S. Civil War general; rumored to have invented baseball
• Abner Biberman American actor and director
• Abner Nash American politician; 2nd Governor of North Carolina
• Abner Haynes American NFL football player
• Abner Joseph Mikva U.S. Congressman and White House counsel
• Abner Frank Dalrymple American baseball player
• Abner Monroe Perrin U.S. Civil War general
• Abner Wilcox American missionary to Hawaii
• (Abner) Linwood Holton Jr. American politician; 61st Governor of Virginia

The name Abner in Pop Culture

• Li'l Abner Yokum main character in comic strip "Li'l Abner" by Al Capp
• Abner pet pig on animated series "Hey Arnold!"
• Abner Kravitz character on TV's "Bewitched"
• Abner Hale character in James Michener's "Hawaii"
• Abner Ronald Jenkins character in Marvel Comics
• Abner Brown character in John Masefield's "The Box of Delights"

International Variations of the name Abner

• Ab Israeli
• Avner Israeli