Abney
From Old English, meaning "dweller at the avon meadow".
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Abney. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 66.7% of registrations being female. The average person named Abney today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Abney births was 1913 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Abney. 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 Abney. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
1913
5 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
1913 SSA rank
#2,823
Tracked since 1913
Gender
Gender distribution for Abney
Abney is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 15 total registrations, 5 (33.3%) were male and 10 (66.7%) were female.
Abney as a male name
- Ranked #2,823 in 1913
- 5 male births in 1913
- Peak: 1913 (5 births)
Abney as a female name
- Ranked #17,016 in 2010
- 5 female births in 2010
- Peak: 2000 (5 births)
Popularity
Abney: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Abney from the 1910s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 5 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Abney 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 Abney during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Abney
The name Abney is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "ab" meaning "dweller at" and "ney" meaning "near water." It was originally a locational surname given to people who lived near a body of water, such as a river or stream.
The earliest recorded use of Abney as a given name dates back to the 16th century. It was initially more common as a surname, particularly in the counties of Derbyshire and Cheshire in England.
One of the earliest known historical figures with the name Abney was Sir Thomas Abney (1639-1722), a wealthy English businessman and Lord Mayor of London. He is best known for providing a home for the famous nonconformist preacher and writer, Isaac Watts, who lived in Sir Thomas Abney's estate for the last 36 years of his life.
Another notable figure with the name Abney was Sir William Wogan Abney (1843-1920), an English photographer and astronomer. He made significant contributions to the development of photographic emulsions and was a pioneer in the field of color photography.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Abney was Abney Coker (1765-1836), a farmer and soldier from South Carolina who served in the American Revolutionary War.
Another notable American with the name Abney was Abney M. Mallett (1836-1882), a Confederate officer during the American Civil War. He served as a colonel in the 24th Tennessee Infantry Regiment and was later promoted to brigadier general.
In more recent times, Abney Park (1908-1986) was an American actor known for his roles in several Western films, including "The Kentuckian" (1955) and "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" (1957).
Overall, the name Abney has a rich history and has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including businessmen, scientists, soldiers, and actors, among others.
People
Abney + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Abney 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
Abney: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Abney?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Abney 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Abney a common name?
We classify Abney as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 15 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Abney most popular?
The single biggest year for Abney was 1913, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Abney is about 22 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 Abney in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Abney a female name?
Yes, 66.7% of people registered as Abney 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 Abney still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Abney 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 Abney 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 people are named Abney?
Find out how many Americans are named Abney on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.