Fun Facts About the Name Abbra
- 36 babies named Abbra: U.S. records list 36 babies given the name Abbra from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Abbra Mean?
Abbra is a rare feminine given name, usually treated as a variant spelling of Abra. No meaning is securely established. The best-attested earlier form is the Greek Ἄβρα (Abra), the name of Judith's maidservant in the Book of Judith; it has no clear sense in Greek and may preserve an altered or shortened Semitic name. The explanation most often repeated connects Abra- names with the Hebrew name of Abraham, Avraham, formed from av ("father") plus a second element meaning "many" or "multitude," which yields the customary feminine gloss "mother of many." That gloss is an interpretation based on the shared opening letters, not a demonstrable line of descent. A less common suggestion links the name to Hebrew ʿavarah, "crossing" or "passage," but this too remains unproven.
The Spanish noun abra, meaning a clearing, glade, or cove, and the Philippine province named from it, are separate words. Their resemblance to the personal name appears to be coincidental.
Abbra Name History & Origins
The earliest clearly documented use of the name in this family is biblical. In the Greek text of the Book of Judith, a book generally thought to have been composed in Hebrew or Aramaic and preserved in Greek, the widow Judith's maidservant is named Ἄβρα. The servant's name passed into Latin and later vernacular translations as Abra; in the King James Version of the Apocrypha (1611) she is called Abra. Through that scriptural association the name was used occasionally for women in Christian Europe, though it never became widespread.
The spelling Abbra is a later variant rather than an ancient form; doubling a consonant in a short name is a familiar pattern in English respelling. The simpler spelling Abra gained literary visibility in the twentieth century through the character Abra Bacon in John Steinbeck's East of Eden (1952), a use that came long after the name's appearance in Scripture. Abbra itself remains uncommon and is best understood as a respelling of the older name rather than as a separate creation.
How Popular is the Name Abbra?
Abbra has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 1982. Its best rank was #5,534 in 1982.
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 | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | #7,563 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1983 | #6,212 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1982 | #5,534 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1981 | #9,110 | 6 | 0.0004% |
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.
Most Popular Girl Names That Start with A
Short Girl Names That Start with A
How the Name Abbra 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 find the best contentment in life when you own your own home and provide well for your family and loved ones. You have a great sense of responsibility and duty. You are comforting, appreciative and affectionate. Your obligation in life is to hold justice and truth, and if you follow the Law, you can find the great happiness and satisfaction.
✦ Abbra's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Abbra's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.