Girl's name
Abigail
Say it AB-ih-gayl
Hebrew origin my Father's joy
3 syllables
Where Abigail is loved, common and rare
Common across Ontario, British Columbia, Northern Ireland and six more places. Rare in Ireland, Quebec, Scotland and 12 more places.
1 in 347 girls born in Northern Ireland in 2025
Ontario 18thBritish Columbia 18thNorthern Ireland 96th
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 24 of the 40 official lists, among them Ontario (18th), British Columbia (18th) and Northern Ireland (96th).
Show all 24 placesShow less
| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario province | 18th 2024 | 293 | about 1 in 186 |
| British Columbia province | 18th 2023 | 80 | about 1 in 149 |
| New South Wales state | 55th 2025 | 120 | rank only |
| Queensland state | 57th 2025 | 89 | rank only |
| Victoria state | 83rd 2025 | 75 | rank only |
| South Australia state | 87th 2025 | 18 | rank only |
| New Zealand | 88th 2025 | 43 | rank only |
| Northern Ireland | 96th 2025 | 21 | 1 in 347 |
| Ireland | 115th 2025 | 40 | 1 in 528 |
| Quebec province | 155th 2025 | 36 | about 1 in 722 |
| Scotland | 157th 2025 | 26 | 1 in 688 |
| England and Wales | 171st 2025 | 283 | 1 in 895 |
| Catalonia region as Abigaïl | 192nd 2025 | 21 | 1 in 918 |
| Norway | 273rd 2025 | 14 | 1 in 1,557 |
| Switzerland | 293rd 2025 | 24 | 1 in 1,416 |
| Poland | 298th 2025 | 15 | 1 in 7,986 |
| The Netherlands | 305th 2025 | 47 | about 1 in 1,298 |
| Italy | 395th 2024 | 35 | 1 in 5,119 |
| Sweden | 436th 2025 | 15 | about 1 in 2,678 |
| Austria | 438th 2025 | 11 | 1 in 3,247 |
| Berlin city | 615th 2023 | 4 | about 1 in 3,626 |
| Cologne city | 630th 2023 | 1 | about 1 in 6,143 |
| France | 632nd 2025 | 120 | 1 in 2,390 |
| Argentina | 17th 2024 | 3,274 | rank only |
Rare, below the listed names: Munich, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock, Spain, Hungary, Slovenia and Israel.
Not in a short top list, so no figure: Nova Scotia (top 21), Denmark (top 50), Finland (top 50), Iceland (top 10), Estonia (top 25), Moscow (top 61), Turkey (top 30) and Croatia (top 50).
Germany publishes no national statistics on first names. German figures here are city lists (Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock), never the country.
Sources: Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (British Columbia); NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages (Data.NSW) (New South Wales); Queensland Registry of BDM (Qld Open Data Portal) (Queensland); Registry of BDM Victoria (DataVic) (Victoria); SA Attorney-General's Department, Births, Deaths and Marriages (data.sa.gov.au) (South Australia); Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), SmartStart (New Zealand); NISRA (Northern Ireland); Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); Retraite Québec (Banque de prénoms, Données Québec) (Quebec); National Records of Scotland (Scotland); Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); Idescat (Institut d'Estadística de Catalunya) (Catalonia); Statistics Norway (SSB) (Norway); Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) / Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS) (Switzerland); Ministerstwo Cyfryzacji, rejestr PESEL (dane.gov.pl) (Poland); Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB) (the Netherlands); ISTAT, Contanomi (Italy); Skatteverket (Swedish Tax Agency) (Sweden); Statistik Austria (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1) (Austria); BerlinOnline GmbH; Landesamt für Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten (LABO) / Standesämter (Berlin); Stadt Köln, Standesamt (offenedaten-koeln.de) (Cologne); INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (France); RENAPER, Dirección Nacional de Población (datos.gob.ar) (Argentina). How we count, and every source
About the name
In the Bible, Abigail is a wife of King David. The name comes from Hebrew avigáyil, literally 'my Father's joy' or 'fountain of joy'.
Read the restShow less
It has three syllables, AB-ih-gayl. Abby, Abbie and Abi are the familiar short forms, Gail is another, and Abigaïl and Avigail are spellings used in other languages.
Abigail ranks high in Argentina and in Ontario and British Columbia, and it is used in New South Wales, Catalonia and Norway. The Ontario and British Columbia records place its peak in 2008, and it is now falling in 12 places with no rises recorded, so it is a name that is quietly easing out of fashion.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
- Pronounced
- AB-ih-gayl, 3 syllables
- Meaning
my Father's joy
- Origin
- Hebrew
- Other spellings
- Abbie
- Abby
- Avigail
- Abigaelle
- Abigel
- Abbey
- Abbi
- Abi
- Gail
- Gayle
- Abbigail
- Abbygail
- Abigale
- Abbigale
- Abigayle
- Abigael
- Abigaille
Counted together here: Abigaïl.
Etymology
From Hebrew אֲבִיגַיִל (avigáyil, “Abigail”, literally “my Father's joy” or “fountain of joy”).
From the Wiktionary entry, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened.
Over time
Over five years: falling in 12 of 21 regions, rising in none.
Show the yearsShow less
Rank in each place since 1996; higher on the chart is more popular.
Ten years of ranks
Her rank each year, English-speaking regions first. A blank means no published rank for her that year.
| Region | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 58 | 73 | 77 | 83 | 87 | 105 | 128 | 134 | 154 | 171 |
| Scotland | 49 | 53 | 56 | 65 | 69 | 73 | 83 | 88 | 102 | 157 |
| Northern Ireland | 44 | 48 | 46 | 73 | 59 | 108 | 73 | 115 | 80 | 96 |
| Ireland | 52 | 62 | 75 | 59 | 64 | 93 | 84 | 84 | 79 | 115 |
| Ontario | 6 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 18 | 14 | 18 | 18 | |
| British Columbia | 8 | 10 | 9 | 17 | 22 | 16 | 12 | 18 | ||
| Nova Scotia | 3 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 18 | 12 | ||||
| New South Wales | 32 | 35 | 33 | 27 | 38 | 49 | 50 | 64 | 48 | 55 |
| Victoria | 39 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 47 | 56 | 57 | 62 | 69 | 83 |
| Queensland | 30 | 30 | 28 | 25 | 41 | 44 | 44 | 47 | 54 | 57 |
| South Australia | 40 | 33 | 39 | 60 | 27 | 75 | 83 | 75 | 63 | 87 |
| New Zealand | 55 | 52 | 37 | 30 | 58 | 51 | 64 | 57 | 76 | 88 |
| Quebec | 102 | 103 | 106 | 100 | 141 | 116 | 114 | 137 | 123 | 155 |
| France | 820 | 688 | 692 | 801 | 607 | 603 | 651 | 648 | 612 | 632 |
| The Netherlands | 288 | 340 | 307 | 348 | 355 | 298 | 331 | 265 | 305 | |
| Austria | 321 | 411 | 302 | 415 | 380 | 507 | 497 | 487 | 463 | 438 |
| Switzerland | 445 | 355 | 316 | 449 | 333 | 392 | 393 | 291 | 357 | 293 |
| Berlin | 498 | 803 | 432 | 668 | 484 | 654 | 426 | 615 | ||
| Leipzig | 411 | 378 | 265 | 405 | 186 | 361 | 357 | |||
| Norway | 324 | 297 | 299 | 270 | 317 | 303 | 246 | 302 | 353 | 273 |
| Sweden | 377 | 307 | 334 | 270 | 470 | 347 | 319 | 314 | 313 | 436 |
| Catalonia | 317 | 260 | 218 | 346 | 204 | 204 | 265 | 220 | 200 | 192 |
| Italy | 404 | 425 | 449 | 361 | 423 | 395 | ||||
| Poland | 206 | 212 | 243 | 211 | 236 | 228 | 299 | 236 | 272 | 298 |
| Argentina | 7 | 7 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 17 |
England and Wales, 1996 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 171 | 283 | 111.7 |
| 2024 | 154 | 331 | 128.3 |
| 2023 | 134 | 373 | 145.4 |
| 2022 | 128 | 393 | 149.1 |
| 2021 | 105 | 494 | 180.3 |
| 2020 | 87 | 586 | 218.3 |
| 2019 | 83 | 634 | 226.4 |
| 2018 | 77 | 690 | 239.4 |
| 2017 | 73 | 782 | 261.5 |
| 2016 | 58 | 1,023 | 333.1 |
| 2015 | 51 | 1,131 | 367.3 |
| 2014 | 46 | 1,181 | 385.1 |
| 2013 | 46 | 1,191 | 386.1 |
| 2012 | 44 | 1,316 | 408.6 |
| 2011 | 38 | 1,493 | 464.7 |
| 2010 | 34 | 1,632 | 508.3 |
| 2009 | 36 | 1,673 | 533.9 |
| 2008 | 29 | 1,973 | 624.8 |
| 2007 | 24 | 2,013 | 657.6 |
| 2006 | 23 | 2,147 | 717.5 |
| 2005 | 20 | 2,461 | 853.8 |
| 2004 | 19 | 2,643 | 924.6 |
| 2003 | 20 | 2,642 | 948.1 |
| 2002 | 22 | 2,318 | 867.0 |
| 2001 | 22 | 2,158 | 805.2 |
| 2000 | 19 | 2,333 | 854.0 |
| 1999 | 20 | 2,397 | 850.9 |
| 1998 | 22 | 2,485 | 859.3 |
| 1997 | 24 | 2,570 | 876.6 |
| 1996 | 21 | 2,595 | 876.7 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
Ontario and British Columbia since 1925
Half of the babies named Abigail in Ontario and British Columbia since 1925 were born in or after 2010. First recorded in 1962. Her peak year there: 2008, at 1,095.1 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Abigail per 100,000 girls born in Ontario and British Columbia, by five-year period. Her 2008 peak is averaged into its five-year period, so the line sits below it.
Sources: Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (1917-2024), OGL-Ontario; BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (1924-2023), OGL-BC.
Sister names for Abigail
1 in 125 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Abigail.
1 in 347 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Abigail.
1 in 202 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Abigail.
1 in 208 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Abigail.
1 in 778 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Abigail.
1 in 146 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Abigail.
1 in 126 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Abigail.
1 in 132 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Abigail.
1 in 108 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Abigail. Same first letter as Abigail.
1 in 184 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Abigail.
Middle names for Abigail
1 in 71 in Scotland
Abigail Olivia
3-4 beats · initials AO
Changes the beat after Abigail: 3 syllables, then 4 syllables.
1 in 107 in Northern Ireland
Abigail Charlotte
3-2 beats · initials AC
Changes the beat after Abigail: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 86 in Ireland
Abigail Sophie
3-2 beats · initials AS
Changes the beat after Abigail: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
Abigail Grace
3-1 beats · initials AG
Changes the beat after Abigail: 3 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 154 in Ireland
Abigail Emma
3-2 beats · initials AE
Changes the beat after Abigail: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 95 in Northern Ireland
Abigail Anna
3-2 beats · initials AA
Changes the beat after Abigail: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 102 in Ireland
Abigail Mia
3-2 beats · initials AM
Changes the beat after Abigail: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 197 in Ireland
Abigail Alice
3-2 beats · initials AA
Changes the beat after Abigail: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
Same style as Abigail
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 126 in Ireland
96% alike: moves with Abigail across countries and decades.
1 in 99 in Scotland
96% alike: moves with Abigail across countries and decades.
1 in 557 in England and Wales
95% alike: moves with Abigail across countries and decades.
1 in 197 in Scotland
95% alike: moves with Abigail across countries and decades.
1 in 108 in Scotland
95% alike: moves with Abigail across countries and decades.
1 in 146 in Northern Ireland
95% alike: moves with Abigail across countries and decades.
1 in 70 in Ireland
95% alike: moves with Abigail across countries and decades.
1 in 459 in Scotland
95% alike: moves with Abigail across countries and decades.
Famous people named Abigail
Abigail Adams, Abigail Breslin, Abigail Johnson, Abigail Fillmore, Abigail Spanberger, Abigail Spencer, Abigail Spears and Abigail Cowen.
Show all 8Show less
-
First Lady of the United States from 1797 to 1801 1744 to 1818
-
American actress born 1996
-
American businesswoman, business executive, heiress, billionaire born 1961
-
First Lady of the United States from 1850 to 1853 1798 to 1853
-
American politician and former intelligence officer (born 1979)
-
American actress born 1981
-
American tennis player born 1981
-
American actress born 1998
People: Wikidata (CC0), linked to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists.
Questions about Abigail
5 questions, on how popular she is, what it means, how to say it, whether she is rising and sister names.
Show all 5 questionsShow less
How popular is Abigail?
Her best rank is No. 17 in Argentina in 2024. She is in the published lists of 24 of our 40 regions.
What does Abigail mean?
Wiktionary glosses Abigail as "my Father's joy".
How do you pronounce Abigail?
AB-ih-gayl, with 3 syllables.
Is Abigail getting more popular?
Over five years: falling in 12 of 21 regions, rising in none.
Which sister names go with Abigail?
The deck's top five sisters for Abigail: Molly, Eliza, Eden, Zara and Gabriella. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.