Abigail

Spellings & scripts●

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 3 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Abigail is also recorded as 6 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• English given name947K records spelled Abigail31 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Honduras

  Languages: English, German, Dutch

  Also written Abigaïl, Abi-Gail, Abigaíl, Abigàil, Äbîgãïl

• a separate given name30K records spelled Abigail4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Ecuador

  Also written Abigaïl, Abigaíl, Abígail

• Hebrew given name17K records spelled Abigail7 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Nigeria

  Languages: Hebrew, Arabic, Maltese

  Also written Abigaïl, Ãbîgåïl, Abigaíl, Äbïgäîl

• Indonesian given name14K records spelled Abigail6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, United States, Philippines, Nigeria

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written 'Abigail, Abigail', Abigåil, Abigaíl

• Polish given name11K records spelled Abigail35 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Poland, United States, Czechia, United Kingdom

  Languages: Polish, Czech, Russian

  Also written Абигейл, Эбигейл, Абигайль, Абигаил, Абігейл

• Lao given name6.7K records spelled Abigail17 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Laos, United States, Thailand, Philippines

  Languages: Lao, Thai

  Also written อะบิเกล, Abigaíl, Äbïgäïl, Abïgäil, Abígail

69 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Abigail is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• A timeless biblical name meaning 'my father is joy,' symbolizing intelligence and beauty.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• In Spanish, Hebrew ab 'father' + guilah 'joy': 'father's joy'.

  as a name·Diccionario etimológico de nombres propios

• In Jewish tradition, she is counted as one of the seven female prophets and is cited as a paragon of wisdom and peacemaking. In Christian tradition, she is viewed as a type of the church or a figure of prudent intercession.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• In English, A lady's maid.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Swedish, Abigail är ett hebreiskt namn med betydelsen ’fadern har fröjdat sig’. I Gamla testamentet i Bibeln är Abigail en klok kvinna, gift med Nabal och sedan med kung David. Namnet började användas i Sverige under 1700-talet men har varit ovanligt.

  as a name·Förnamn i Sverige. Kortfattat namnlexikon

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Abigail Adamsb. 1744USFirst Lady of the United States from 1797 to 1801
• Abigail Adams Smithb. 1765USdaughter of John Adams (1765-1813)
• Abigail Fillmoreb. 1798USFirst Lady of the United States from 1850 to 1853
• Susan Sarandonb. 1946USnot in their usual nameAmerican actress and activist
• Abigail Johnsonb. 1961USAmerican businesswoman, business executive, heiress, billionaire
• Sarah Lancashireb. 1964GBnot in their usual nameEnglish actress
• Abigail Thawb. 1965GBEnglish actress
• Abigail Spencerb. 1981USAmerican actress
• Abigail Spearsb. 1981USAmerican tennis player
• Abigail Breslinb. 1996USAmerican actress

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,457 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Abigail?

We estimate roughly 371 thousand people bear Abigail (counting its spellings and scripts) across 14 countries in our records.

In which country does Abigail have the most bearers?

Abigail is most frequently recorded in Argentina, where it is most often spelled abigail.

How common is Abigail compared with other names?

In Argentina, Abigail is the 178th most common given name of 517,176 given names recorded there.

Is Abigail a male or female name?

Abigail is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Abigail mean?

Recorded meaning: A classic biblical name signifying 'father's joy', popular in the English-speaking world since the Reformation.