NameCensus.

UK boy's name

Abu

An Arabic name for a man meaning "father of".

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.

Abu is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Abu popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #651, with 57 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2014, with 70 births.

This profile covers 1,278 England and Wales registrations across 29 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 81% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.

We estimate that about 1,271 living people in the UK are called Abu. 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

  • Abu ranked #651 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 57 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 2014, when 70 boys were registered as Abu.
  • Abu ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #648 in 2011.
  • About 1,271 living people in the UK are estimated to have Abu as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.

Latest rank (E&W)

#651

2024

Births in 2024

57

Latest year

Peak year

2014

70 births

Estimated living

1,271

2026

Meaning

What does Abu mean?

The name Abu has its origins in the Arabic language and culture. It is derived from the Semitic word 'ab' which means father. The name Abu is a masculine given name that has been in use for centuries in the Arab world and other regions influenced by Arab culture and Islamic civilization.

In Arabic, the name Abu is used as a prefix in combination with another name or surname. It is a title that denotes respect and is often given to men after they become fathers. The name Abu is deeply rooted in Arab and Islamic traditions, where fatherhood and family ties hold great significance.

The name Abu can be traced back to ancient Arabic texts and historical records, including the Quran, the holy book of Islam. In the Quran, the name Abu is mentioned in reference to various individuals and their fathers. For example, Abu Lahab was the nickname given to one of the uncles of the Prophet Muhammad.

Throughout history, there have been numerous notable individuals who bore the name Abu. One of the earliest recorded examples is Abu Bakr, who lived from 573 to 634 CE. He was a close companion of the Prophet Muhammad and later became the first Caliph (ruler) of the Islamic empire after the Prophet's death.

Another prominent figure in Islamic history was Abu Hanifa, a renowned Islamic scholar and jurist who lived from 699 to 767 CE. He was the founder of the Hanafi school of jurisprudence, which is one of the four major Sunni Islamic legal traditions.

In the field of science and mathematics, Abu al-Wafa al-Buzjani, who lived from 940 to 998 CE, made significant contributions to the development of trigonometry and spherical geometry.

Abu Nuwas, a renowned Arabic poet who lived from 756 to 814 CE, is celebrated for his witty and often provocative poetry, which explored themes of love, wine, and rebellion against societal norms.

In more recent history, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was the infamous leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a terrorist organization responsible for numerous atrocities in the Middle East and beyond.

It is worth noting that while the name Abu has its roots in Arabic and Islamic culture, it has also been adopted by other cultures and communities around the world, sometimes with slight variations in spelling or pronunciation.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Abu over time

The chart below shows babies named Abu 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 Abu, the clearest high point is 2014. The latest England and Wales figure is 57 births in 2024, compared with 70 at the peak.

Babies born per year

Abu
018355370199620102024

Decades

Abu by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Abu 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 #722 238 5
2010s #777 423 10
2000s #552 472 10
1990s #524 145 4

Geography

Where Abu is most common

The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Abu. 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.

Abu ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #648 in 2011.

Scotland
3

Across the UK

Abu in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland (NRS)

#648 in 2011

1 years of NRS records, 3 total registered

Related

Names similar to Abu

FAQ

Abu: questions and answers

How popular is the name Abu in the UK right now?

In 2024, Abu was ranked #651 for boys in England and Wales, with 57 births registered.

When was Abu most popular?

The peak year on record was 2014, with 70 babies registered as Abu in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Abu?

An Arabic name for a man meaning "father of".

How many people are called Abu in the UK?

A total of 1,278 babies have been registered as Abu across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 3 more in Scotland.

Where is Abu most common?

In the latest published local rankings, Abu ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #648 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.