UK girl's name
Abigael
Feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "father's joy".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Abigael is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Abigael popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #4843, with 4 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2004, with 19 births.
This profile covers 222 England and Wales registrations across 23 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NRS Scotland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 21% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 245 living people in the UK are called Abigael. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Abigael ranked #4843 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 4 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2004, when 19 girls were registered as Abigael.
- • Abigael ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #810 in 2011.
- • About 245 living people in the UK are estimated to have Abigael as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#4843
2024
Births in 2024
4
Latest year
Peak year
2004
19 births
Estimated living
245
2026
Meaning
What does Abigael mean?
The name Abigael is a variant spelling of the Hebrew name Abigail, which means "father's joy" or "source of joy". It is derived from the Hebrew words "avi" meaning "father" and "gil" meaning "joy" or "rejoice".
The name Abigail first appears in the Old Testament of the Bible, specifically in the Book of Samuel. Abigail was a wife of the wealthy landowner Nabal, known for her wisdom and beauty. When David was fleeing from King Saul, Abigail intervened and prevented him from taking violent revenge against her foolish husband.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Abigael was Abigael de Neville, born in 1422 in Yorkshire, England. She was a noblewoman and the daughter of Sir Thomas Neville and Joan Beaufort.
In the 16th century, Abigael Cromwell (1559-1603) was the daughter of Sir Henry Cromwell and granddaughter of Thomas Cromwell, the chief minister to King Henry VIII. She married William Paulet, 3rd Marquess of Winchester.
Abigael Bradshaw (1651-1725) was a Quaker minister and writer from Cheshire, England. She published several works on Quaker beliefs and practices during her lifetime.
Abigael Adams (1765-1849) was the daughter of John Adams, the second President of the United States, and Abigail Adams. She was born in Massachusetts and lived during the American Revolutionary War period.
Abigael Perkins (1775-1846) was an early American folk artist and painter from Connecticut. She is known for her portraits and still life paintings, many of which are held in museum collections today.
The name Abigael combines the Hebrew roots of Abigail with a unique spelling variation, reflecting its enduring popularity over centuries as a name steeped in biblical history and cultural significance.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Abigael over time
The chart below shows babies named Abigael registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Abigael, the clearest high point is 2004. The latest England and Wales figure is 4 births in 2024, compared with 19 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Abigael by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Abigael was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #4843 | 4 | 1 |
| 2010s | #4199 | 43 | 8 |
| 2000s | #1645 | 145 | 10 |
| 1990s | #2188 | 30 | 4 |
Geography
Where Abigael is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Abigael. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Abigael ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #810 in 2011.
Across the UK
Abigael in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#810 in 2011
6 years of NRS records, 24 total registered
Related
Names similar to Abigael
- Amelia 94,830
- Ava 54,556
- Amy 52,495
- Alice 46,815
- Abigail 45,658
- Amber 31,922
- Anna 27,802
- Alexandra 19,455
- Amelie 18,051
- Abbie 15,971
- Aimee 15,158
- Annabelle 15,120
FAQ
Abigael: questions and answers
How popular is the name Abigael in the UK right now?
In 2024, Abigael was ranked #4843 for girls in England and Wales, with 4 births registered.
When was Abigael most popular?
The peak year on record was 2004, with 19 babies registered as Abigael in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Abigael?
Feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "father's joy".
How many people are called Abigael in the UK?
A total of 222 babies have been registered as Abigael across the 23 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 24 more in Scotland.
Where is Abigael most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Abigael ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #810 in 2011. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.