UK girl's name
Aby
A feminine form of the Hebrew name Abigail meaning "father's joy".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2014. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Aby is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Aby popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2014 in this profile. In that release it ranked #5691, with 3 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2003, with 4 births.
This profile covers 22 England and Wales registrations across 7 recorded years from 1997 to 2014. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, 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 75% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 22 living people in the UK are called Aby. 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 2015 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Aby ranked #5691 for girls in England and Wales in 2014, with 3 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2003, when 4 girls were registered as Aby.
- • About 22 living people in the UK are estimated to have Aby as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#5691
2014
Births in 2014
3
Latest year
Peak year
2003
4 births
Estimated living
22
2026
Meaning
What does Aby mean?
The name Aby is believed to have originated from the Hebrew language and culture. It is derived from the Hebrew name Abijah, which means "Yahweh is my father" or "my father is Yahweh." The name Abijah appears in the Old Testament of the Bible, where it was borne by several individuals, including a king of Judah.
One of the earliest known references to the name Aby can be found in the Book of Chronicles, which mentions a person named Abijah who was a descendant of King David and ruled over the Kingdom of Judah in the 9th century BC. However, it is unclear when the shortened form "Aby" first came into use.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Aby. One of the earliest recorded examples is Aby Wambach (c. 1610-1680), a Dutch Golden Age painter known for his still life and trompe-l'œil works. Another notable figure was Aby Warburg (1866-1929), a German art historian and cultural theorist who founded the Warburg Institute in London.
In the realm of literature, Aby Moritse (1887-1951) was a Russian writer and translator who is best known for his translations of works by Oscar Wilde and Bernard Shaw into Russian. Additionally, there was Aby M. Dikhter (1910-1993), a Soviet-American historian and author who wrote extensively on Russian and Jewish history.
In more recent times, one notable figure was Aby Stein (1901-1970), an American lawyer and civil rights activist who played a significant role in the desegregation of public schools in the United States. Another individual worth mentioning is Aby Rotten (born 1972), a German singer and songwriter who is the lead vocalist of the punk rock band The Arrogants.
While the name Aby is not as common as some other names, it has a rich history and has been borne by individuals from various fields and backgrounds throughout the centuries.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Aby over time
The chart below shows babies named Aby registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1997 to 2014. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Aby, the clearest high point is 2003. The latest England and Wales figure is 3 births in 2014, compared with 4 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Aby by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Aby 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | #5691 | 3 | 1 |
| 2000s | #4842 | 16 | 5 |
| 1990s | #3824 | 3 | 1 |
Related
Names similar to Aby
- 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
Aby: questions and answers
How popular is the name Aby in the UK right now?
In 2014, Aby was ranked #5691 for girls in England and Wales, with 3 births registered.
When was Aby most popular?
The peak year on record was 2003, with 4 babies registered as Aby in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Aby?
A feminine form of the Hebrew name Abigail meaning "father's joy".
How many people are called Aby in the UK?
A total of 22 babies have been registered as Aby across the 7 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here.
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.