Abigail
Top 1000
About Abigail
Abigail has been in for so long -- the name has ranked in the US Top 100 since the late 1980s -- it's amazing that it isn't more out by now. But Abigail's biblical and historic roots make it a fashionable classic rather than a passing fad.
The name Abigail comes from the Hebrew name Avigail and is derived from the Hebrew elements ab, meaning "father," and g-y-l, meaning "to rejoice." In the Old Testament, Abigail was the wife of David, said to be beautiful, wise, and prophetic.
Abigail was well-used for centuries but In the early 1800s, abigail became a slang term for a lady's maid, which led to a fall from favor. It was well on its way down by the time the US Social Security office began keeping records on baby name popularity in 1880, and by the early 1900s fell off the Top 1000 completely.
Abigail's resurgence was tied to the rediscovery of many old biblical names starting in the 1960s. Abigail was in the first wave of the Old Testament names that were revived then, including Hannah, Rebecca, and Rachel for girls, Joshua, Aaron, and Benjamin for boys.
Abigail has been the name of two of our First Ladies—three, if you count the character on The West Wing—and Abby has been the name of a host of television and movie characters in everything from Mad Men to The Lovely Bones.
If you like Abigail but want something fresher, you may consider such other biblical choices as Lydia and Priscilla or names popular in Revolutionary Era America that have been neglected in recent years, such as Susannah and Hester.
Pronounced AB-i-gal.
As of October 2026, Abigail ranked #41 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #4 in 2005, Nameberry popularity #102.
Editor's take: The name Abigail is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "my father is joyful".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #8 | 12,113 | 6,780.8 |
| 2015 | #7 | 12,420 | 6,957.6 |
| 2016 | #8 | 11,794 | 6,655.7 |
| 2017 | #10 | 10,645 | 6,165.8 |
| 2018 | #11 | 9,877 | 5,806.3 |
| 2019 | #11 | 9,189 | 5,475 |
| 2020 | #12 | 7,910 | 4,893.1 |
| 2021 | #17 | 6,985 | 4,256.9 |
| 2022 | #24 | 6,300 | 3,841.2 |
| 2023 | #31 | 5,682 | 3,541.1 |
| 2024 | #32 | 5,499 | 3,394 |
| 2025 | #41 | 4,941 | 3,074.2 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Abigail.
- Julia
- Hannah
- Anna
- Emily
- Katherine
- Isabel
- Madeline
- Sophie
- Claire
- Natalie
- Elizabeth
- Leah
- Caroline
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- Grace
- Kate
- Laura
- Annabelle
- Catherine
Abigail on lists
Famous Abigails
- Abigail
sister of King David (1 Chr. 2:16)
- Abigail Adams
U.S. First Lady as wife of 2nd President John Adams
- Abigail "Nabby" Adams Smith
daughter of Abigail and John Adams
- Abigail Powers Fillmore
U.S. First Lady as wife of President Millard Fillmore
- Abigail Van Buren
pen name of Pauline and Jeanne Phillips, American advice columnists of "Dear Abby"
- Abigail Kathleen Breslin
American actress
- Abigail Savage
American actress
- Abigail Rich
American model and actress
- Abigail Michal Spears
American tennis player
- Abigail Anne Folger
American socialite and volunteer
- Abigail Lane
English visual artist
- Abigail Leigh Spencer
American actress
- Abigail Williams
accuser in the 1692 Salem witch trials
- Abigail "Gayle" Zsiga
English electronic musician
- Mary Abigail "Abby" Wambach
American soccer player
- Abigail Lynn "Abby" Dahlkemper
American soccer player
- Abigail Nellie "Abby" Waner
American basketball player
- Abigail Loraine "Abby" Hensel
American conjoined twin and reality TV personality; twin Brittany Hensel
- Abigail Susan "Abby" Eckstein
American child model
- Abigail Mawae (b. 2000)
daughter of NFL player Kevin Mawae
- Abigail Grace Fisher (b. 2008)
daughter of singer Carolyn Dawn Johnson and Matt Fisher
- Abigail O'kalani Bowlsbey (b. 2014)
daughter of U.S. Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth
- Abigail Severino (b. 2015)
daughter of baseball player Luis Severino
- Abigail Morris
lead singer of "The Last Dinner Party"
Abigail in pop culture
- Abigail Johanna Deveraux
character on American soap "Days of Our Lives"
- Abigail Rachel "Abby" Carlton Newman
character on American soap "The Young and the Restless"
- Abigail "Abby" Scuito
character on TV's 'NCIS'
- Abigail Armstrong
character on Australian TV's "Dance Academy"
- Abigail "Abbie" Carmichael
character on TV's "Law & Order"
- Abigail Hobbs
character on TV's 'Hannibal'
- Dr. Abigail Chase
main character in National Treasure movies
- Abigail Nixon
character on British TV's "The Bill"
- Abigail Whitman
character on TV's "Mad Men"
- Abigail Kenner
character in novel "The Lifeboat Clique"
- Abigail "Abby" Whelan
character on TV's 'Scandal'
- Abigail Lytar
character on TV's "Psych"
- Abigail "Abby" Mills
character on TV's "Sleepy Hollow"
- Sister Abigail
character in movie 'Orphan'
- Abigail "Abby" Davies
character on British soap "Hollyoaks"
- Abigail Salmon
character in book/movie "The Lovely Bones"
- Abigail "Abby" Lincoln (a.k.a. Numbah 5)
one of the main characters on Codename: Kids Next Door
- Abigail Merriweather
character in "This golden land" by Barbara Wood
- "Abigail
" song and concept album by King Diamond
- Abigail "Abby" Griffin
a character in the TV show The 100
- Abigail "Abbie" Rosso
character in the children's novel '10 Kids, No Pets', by Ann M Martin
- Abigail "Abby" Williams
character in Arthur Miller's play The Crucible
- Abigail "Abby" Bennett Wilson
character on TV's "The Vampire Diaries"
- Abigail "Abbey" Bartlet
character in the TV show The West Wing
- Abigail Williams
character in the movie "The Sorcerer's Apprentice"
- "Abigail"
song by Motionless in White
- Abigail Kirk
character in book and movie "Playing Beatie Bow"
- Abigail
a character in the game "Stardew Valley"
- Abigail “Abby” Maitland
character in ITV Series “Primeval”
- Abby Lockhart
Nurse, then Doctor on TV’s ER
- Abigail Carter
character in video game “Don’t Starve”