Abeal
A masculine name of Hebrew origin signifying "the breath of God".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Abeal. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Abeal today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Abeal births was 1998 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Abeal. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Abeal. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1998
5 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
1998 SSA rank
#9,639
Tracked since 1998
Popularity
Abeal: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Abeal 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 Abeal during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Abeal
The name Abeal is a variation of the Hebrew name Obadiah, which means "servant of God" or "worshiper of Yahweh". This name has its origins in ancient Israel, dating back to biblical times around the 6th century BCE.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Obadiah can be found in the Old Testament, where it was borne by one of the minor prophets whose book is included in the Hebrew Bible. The Book of Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament, consisting of a single chapter.
During the Middle Ages, the name Obadiah was transliterated into various European languages, leading to variations like Abdias, Obadiah, and Abeal. The name Abeal is believed to have emerged as a variation in medieval France and England.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Abeal was Abeal de Châlons, a French nobleman who lived in the 12th century and served as a knight in the Second Crusade. Another notable figure was Abeal de Montfort, a 13th-century English knight who participated in the Barons' War against King John.
In the 16th century, Abeal Gualdim was a prominent Italian humanist and scholar who made significant contributions to the study of ancient Greek and Roman literature.
During the 17th century, Abeal Stoddard was an English clergyman and author who wrote extensively on theological and religious matters. He lived from 1642 to 1719.
In the 19th century, Abeal Dowling was an Irish-American author and journalist who wrote about the history and culture of Ireland. He was born in 1787 and died in 1868.
While the name Abeal is relatively uncommon today, it has a rich historical background that spans multiple cultures and centuries, reflecting its Hebrew origins and subsequent adaptations in various parts of Europe.
People
Abeal + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Abeal 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
Abeal: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Abeal?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Abeal 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Abeal a common name?
We classify Abeal as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Abeal most popular?
The single biggest year for Abeal was 1998, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Abeal is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Abeal in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Abeal a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Abeal in the SSA data are male. 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 Abeal still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Abeal 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 Abeal 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Abeal?
See how many people have the name Abeal on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.