Fun Facts About the Name Abbigail
- More than 12 thousand babies named Abbigail: U.S. records list 12,158 babies given the name Abbigail from 1880 through 2025. Even 5 boys received the name Abbigail - about 1 boy for every 2,431 girls.
What Does the Name Abbigail Mean?
Abbigail is a variant spelling of Abigail, a name from the Hebrew Avigayil (אֲבִיגַיִל). The Hebrew name is usually understood as "my father is joy" or "my father rejoices." It is formed from avi, meaning "my father," and gil, meaning "joy" or "rejoicing." A customary English rendering is "my father's joy." The doubled b in Abbigail is a spelling variation; it does not change the name's Hebrew derivation or meaning.
Abbigail Name History & Origins
The Hebrew name Avigayil appears in the Bible. In 1 Samuel 25, Abigail is the wife of Nabal, a wealthy man in Carmel; after Nabal's death she becomes one of David's wives. In 2 Samuel 3:3 she is named as the mother of David's son Chileab, also called Daniel in 1 Chronicles 3:1. A second biblical Abigail, a sister of David, is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 2:16 - 17 as the mother of Amasa. The name was carried into Greek as Abigaia and into Latin as Abigail, forms that helped transmit it through Christian Europe.
In England, Abigail was in use by the 16th century and became common among Puritans in the 17th century. The spelling Abbigail is an English variant of Abigail. Its doubled b is an orthographic variation rather than a separate etymological development, so it shares Abigail's Hebrew origin and history.
A separate development is the common noun abigail, meaning a lady's maid or waiting woman, which arose in 17th-century English. It is often linked to the character Abigail in Beaumont and Fletcher's play The Scornful Lady (c. 1616), but the given name itself was already in use from the biblical name. The literary term is not the source of the name.
How Popular is the Name Abbigail?
Abbigail recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2009. Its best rank was #458 in 2009.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #3,780 | 39 | 0.0024% |
| 2024 | #3,950 | 37 | 0.0023% |
| 2023 | #2,887 | 58 | 0.0036% |
| 2022 | #2,551 | 69 | 0.0042% |
| 2021 | #2,484 | 71 | 0.0043% |
| 2020 | #1,977 | 95 | 0.0059% |
| 2019 | #1,529 | 141 | 0.0084% |
| 2018 | #1,379 | 163 | 0.0096% |
| 2017 | #1,303 | 180 | 0.0104% |
| 2016 | #1,132 | 224 | 0.0126% |
| 2015 | #1,025 | 261 | 0.0146% |
| 2014 | #855 | 322 | 0.0180% |
| 2013 | #747 | 364 | 0.0207% |
| 2012 | #619 | 462 | 0.0262% |
| 2011 | #514 | 570 | 0.0324% |
| 2010 | #508 | 590 | 0.0332% |
| 2009 | #458 | 676 | 0.0368% |
| 2008 | #510 | 608 | 0.0322% |
| 2007 | #495 | 653 | 0.0340% |
| 2006 | #490 | 631 | 0.0332% |
| 2005 | #502 | 601 | 0.0325% |
| 2004 | #519 | 553 | 0.0301% |
| 2003 | #515 | 555 | 0.0304% |
| 2002 | #484 | 578 | 0.0322% |
| 2001 | #505 | 544 | 0.0302% |
| 2000 | #549 | 475 | 0.0262% |
| 1999 | #612 | 396 | 0.0223% |
| 1998 | #613 | 392 | 0.0222% |
| 1997 | #693 | 310 | 0.0178% |
| 1996 | #759 | 278 | 0.0159% |
| 1995 | #842 | 232 | 0.0132% |
| 1994 | #1,114 | 161 | 0.0090% |
| 1993 | #1,447 | 111 | 0.0061% |
| 1992 | #1,876 | 75 | 0.0041% |
| 1991 | #1,933 | 72 | 0.0038% |
| 1990 | #1,701 | 86 | 0.0045% |
| 1989 | #2,194 | 55 | 0.0030% |
| 1988 | #1,934 | 63 | 0.0035% |
| 1987 | #2,657 | 37 | 0.0021% |
| 1986 | #2,419 | 41 | 0.0024% |
| 1985 | #2,658 | 36 | 0.0021% |
| 1984 | #2,852 | 31 | 0.0018% |
| 1983 | #2,783 | 31 | 0.0019% |
| 1982 | #3,171 | 27 | 0.0016% |
| 1981 | #2,657 | 34 | 0.0020% |
| 1980 | #2,940 | 30 | 0.0018% |
| 1979 | #3,333 | 24 | 0.0015% |
| 1978 | #3,388 | 22 | 0.0014% |
| 1977 | #5,889 | 10 | 0.0007% |
| 1976 | #7,297 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1975 | #5,515 | 10 | 0.0007% |
| 1974 | #8,776 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1973 | #8,424 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1972 | #5,477 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 1971 | #6,007 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1970 | #6,363 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1967 | #4,982 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1965 | #6,539 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1964 | #6,767 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1962 | #6,580 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1959 | #6,244 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | #11,359 | 5 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Abbigail Shapes Your Personality and Life?
Powerful and complete. You are good intellectually and require several outlets for your energies. You are not a builder but a planner, and you want others to carry out your plans. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You are very intuitive. You have a reservoir of inspired wisdom combined with inherited analytical ability, which could reward you through expressions of spiritual leadership, business analysis, marketing, artistic visions, and scientific research. Operating on spiritual side of your individuality can bring you to the great heights, and drop you off if you neglect your spiritual identity. You are always looking for an opportunity to investigate the unknown, to use and show your mental abilities, to find the purpose and meaning of life. You want to grow wise and to understand people and things. You need privacy to replenish your energy. You have a unique way of thinking, intuitive, reflective, absorbing.
✦ Abbigail's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Abbigail's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.