Fun Facts About the Name Abigel
- 31 babies named Abigel: U.S. records list 31 babies given the name Abigel from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Abigel Mean?
Abigel means "father's joy." It is the Hungarian form of the biblical name Abigail, which comes from the Hebrew אֲבִיגַיִל (Avigayil). That Hebrew name joins אָב (av), "father," with גִּיל (gil), "joy" or "rejoicing," so its literal sense is "my father is joy" or "my father rejoices."
The exact nuance of the old Hebrew compound is not fully settled. The first element can be read as "my father," and interpreters differ over whether the "father" is the speaker's human father or a respectful way of referring to God. "Father's joy" is the customary English rendering rather than a strict word-for-word equivalent.
Abigel Name History & Origins
The name comes from the Hebrew Bible. In the First Book of Samuel (1 Samuel 25), Abigail is the wife of a wealthy man named Nabal; she persuades David not to take revenge, and after Nabal's death she becomes David's wife. A second Abigail, the mother of Amasa, appears in 2 Samuel 17:25 and 1 Chronicles 2:17. Through these biblical figures the name passed into the naming traditions of Christian Europe, though it was not common in the Middle Ages.
Abigail spread more widely in England and other Protestant countries after the Reformation, when Old Testament names were favored. It entered Hungarian by the same biblical route. Hungarian spells the name Abigél, with an acute accent on the final vowel, and, like other Hungarian words, stresses the first syllable. The spelling Abigel, without the accent, is a simplified form used outside Hungarian.
In Hungarian literature, Magda Szabó's novel Abigél (1970) uses the name as its title and is among the best-known Hungarian works to carry it. The novel is a literary association rather than the source of the name, which belongs to the Hungarian biblical name stock.
How Popular is the Name Abigel?
Abigel 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 2014. Its best rank was #14,579 in 2014.
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 | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #14,579 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2012 | #16,891 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2011 | #16,786 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2010 | #17,012 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2007 | #17,655 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2002 | #15,455 | 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 Abigel 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 desire to inspire and lead, to control other's affairs. You are giving, courageous and bold, action oriented,energetic and strong willed. You want to make a difference in the world, and this attitude often attracts you to cultural interests, politics, social issues, and the cultivation of your creative talents.
✦ Abigel's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Abigel's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.