Abigal
Father's joy or source of joy, derived from Hebrew.
Name Census estimates that about 779 living Americans carry the first name Abigal. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Abigal today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Abigal births was 2005 (38 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Abigal. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
779
~ 1 in 439,993 Americans
Peak year
2005
38 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,247
Tracked since 1970
Census
Abigal in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,646 people with the first name Abigal, which placed it at #6,138 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#6,138
National first-name rank
People counted
2.6K
2,646 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
58.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Abigal
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Abigal is White at 58.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (30.2%) and Black (5.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Abigal described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Abigal at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.7% · 1,554
- Hispanic or Latino30.2% · 799
- Black or African American5.3% · 141
- Two or more races2.8% · 75
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 54
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 23
Popularity
Abigal: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Abigal from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 320 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Abigal by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Abigal during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Abigals live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Texas, New York, California recorded the most babies named Abigal, while Pennsylvania, California, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Abigal
The name Abigal is derived from the Hebrew name Avigayil, which means "father's joy" or "source of joy". It is a biblical name with roots dating back to ancient Hebrew texts and scriptures.
In the Old Testament of the Bible, Abigail was the wife of Nabal, a wealthy landowner from Carmel. She is described as a woman of great wisdom and discretion who intervened to prevent her husband from offending David, who would later become the King of Israel. Abigail's actions are portrayed as instrumental in preventing a violent confrontation, and her wisdom and diplomacy are celebrated.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Abigail appears in the Book of Samuel, which is believed to have been written between the 10th and 6th centuries BCE. The name's popularity likely stemmed from its biblical origins and association with the character's virtues of wisdom and peacemaking.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Abigail. One of the most famous was Abigail Adams (1744-1818), the wife of John Adams, the second President of the United States. She was a prolific letter writer and an influential figure in the early years of the American republic, advocating for women's rights and education.
Another prominent Abigail was Abigail Washburn (1910-1976), an American author and activist who fought for workers' rights and social justice. She is best known for her novel "The Road to Rome" and her work with the Federal Writers' Project during the Great Depression.
In the realm of science, Abigail Bok (1901-1975) was an American botanist and educator who made significant contributions to the study of plant genetics and cytology. She was also a pioneer in promoting women's participation in scientific research.
Abigail Van Buren (1918-2013), born Pauline Esther Friedman, was the renowned author of the long-running advice column "Dear Abby". Her witty and practical advice on personal and family matters made her a household name and a cultural icon.
Lastly, Abigail Folger (1943-1969) was an heiress to the Folger coffee fortune and a victim of the infamous Manson Family murders in 1969, which shocked and captivated the nation.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Abigail, highlighting its enduring popularity and the diverse paths taken by those who carried this ancient and meaningful moniker.
People
Abigal + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Abigal as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Abigal: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Abigal?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 779 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Abigal going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 439,993 US residents.
Is Abigal a common name?
We classify Abigal as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 797 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Abigal most popular?
The single biggest year for Abigal was 2005, when 38 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Abigal is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Abigal in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,646 people with the name Abigal, or 0.88 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,138 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Abigal in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Abigal?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Abigal appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,645 people counted with this name, 99.4% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Abigal?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Abigal is White at 58.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (30.2%) and Black (5.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Abigal most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Abigal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.7% (1,554 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Abigal in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Abigal a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Abigal in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Abigal still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Abigal in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Abigal can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Abigal as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.