Abbygail
Derived from Hebrew meaning "the Father's rejoicing" or "a father's joy".
Name Census estimates that about 3,565 living Americans carry the first name Abbygail. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Abbygail today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Abbygail births was 2009 (235 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Abbygail. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Abbygail with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.6K
~ 1 in 96,144 Americans
Peak year
2009
235 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,905
Tracked since 1982
Census
Abbygail in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,721 people with the first name Abbygail, which placed it at #6,033 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
#6,033
National first-name rank
People counted
2.7K
2,721 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
63.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Abbygail
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Abbygail is White at 63.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (22.1%) and Two or More Races (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 Abbygail 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 Abbygail at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White63.2% · 1,721
- Hispanic or Latino22.1% · 601
- Two or more races5.3% · 143
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.9% · 132
- Black or African American3.6% · 97
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 27
Popularity
Abbygail: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Abbygail from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 1,671 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
Abbygail 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 Abbygail during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Abbygails live
The SSA's state-level files cover 26 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Abbygail, while New Jersey, Oregon, Mississippi recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 79 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Abbygail
The name Abbygail has its origins in the Hebrew language, derived from the biblical name Abigail, which means "father's joy" or "source of joy". The name is believed to have been in use since ancient times, dating back to the Iron Age, around the 8th century BCE.
The earliest recorded mention of the name Abigail can be found in the Hebrew Bible, specifically in the Book of Samuel, where it refers to the wife of Nabal, a wealthy man from Carmel. Abigail is described as a woman of great wisdom and beauty who intervened to prevent her husband from offending King David.
Throughout history, the name Abbygail has been used in various forms and spellings, such as Abigail, Abigale, and Abigayle. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Abbygail dates back to the 16th century, when it appeared in English parish records.
In terms of notable historical figures, one of the most famous Abbygails was Abigail Adams (1744-1818), the wife of the second President of the United States, John Adams. She was a prominent figure in her own right, known for her intelligence, political awareness, and advocacy for women's rights.
Another notable Abbygail was Abigail Williams (c. 1680-1692), a key accuser in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692-1693 in colonial Massachusetts. Her accusations helped fuel the mass hysteria and persecution of alleged witches in the region.
In the realm of literature, the name Abbygail is associated with Abigail Baird, a fictional character from the novel "The Last of the Mohicans" by James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851). The character, also known as Cora Munro, was a strong and courageous woman who played a pivotal role in the novel's narrative.
Another notable Abbygail in literature is Abigail Brewster, a character from the play "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller (1915-2005). Set during the Salem Witch Trials, Abigail is a young woman whose false accusations and manipulation drive the plot.
In the world of art, Abigail Lane (1967-), also known as Ruby Loftus, is a British artist and sculptor known for her large-scale installations and sculptures. Her works often explore themes of identity, memory, and the human condition.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Abbygail or its variations, showcasing the name's enduring presence and significance across different cultures and eras.
People
Abbygail + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Abbygail 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
Abbygail: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Abbygail?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,565 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Abbygail 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 96,144 US residents.
Is Abbygail a common name?
We classify Abbygail as "Rare". It ranks above 95.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,614 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Abbygail most popular?
The single biggest year for Abbygail was 2009, when 235 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Abbygail is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Abbygail in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,721 people with the name Abbygail, or 0.90 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,033 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 Abbygail 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 Abbygail?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Abbygail appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,725 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Abbygail?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Abbygail is White at 63.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (22.1%) and Two or More Races (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 Abbygail most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Abbygail in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.2% (1,721 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 Abbygail in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Abbygail a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Abbygail 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 Abbygail still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Abbygail 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 Abbygail 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 share the name Abbygail?
Want to know how many Americans are named Abbygail? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.