Avigayil
A feminine Hebrew name meaning "father's joy" or "father rejoiced".
Name Census estimates that about 624 living Americans carry the first name Avigayil. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Avigayil today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Avigayil births was 2022 (34 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Avigayil. 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.
People living today
624
~ 1 in 549,286 Americans
Peak year
2022
34 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,306
Tracked since 1984
Popularity
Avigayil: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Avigayil from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 225 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Avigayil remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Avigayil 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 Avigayil during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Avigayils live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. New York, New Jersey, California recorded the most babies named Avigayil, while California, New Jersey, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 101 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Avigayil
The name Avigayil is a Hebrew name that originated in ancient Israel. It is a combination of two Hebrew words: "Avi" meaning "father" and "Gayil" meaning "rejoicing." The name can be interpreted to mean "father's joy" or "cause of joy to the father."
The earliest known reference to the name Avigayil is found in the Hebrew Bible, specifically in the Book of 1 Samuel. Avigayil was the name of a wise and beautiful woman who was the wife of a wealthy man named Nabal. She is depicted as a peacemaker who prevented a conflict between her husband and the future King David.
In the Middle Ages, the name Avigayil was commonly used among Jewish communities across Europe and the Middle East. One notable figure from this period was Avigayil, the daughter of Rabbi Shlomo ben Aderet, a prominent Spanish rabbi and Talmudic scholar who lived in the 13th century.
During the Renaissance period, the name Avigayil gained popularity among Sephardic Jewish communities in Spain and Portugal. One famous bearer of the name was Avigayil Nunes, a 16th-century Portuguese poet and writer who was part of the literary circle in Lisbon before the expulsion of Jews from Portugal.
In the 19th century, Avigayil was the name of a prominent Israeli pioneer and educator, Avigayil Moshe Yellin, who was born in 1835. She played a significant role in the establishment of the first modern Hebrew school system in Jerusalem.
Another notable figure with the name Avigayil was Avigayil Hameiri, an Israeli poet and playwright who lived from 1890 to 1970. She was a prominent figure in the Hebrew literary scene and contributed to the development of modern Hebrew literature.
Throughout history, the name Avigayil has been associated with wisdom, beauty, and joy, reflecting its meaning as a source of happiness and pride for a father. While its usage may have fluctuated across different regions and periods, the name has maintained a strong presence within the Jewish tradition and culture.
People
Avigayil + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Avigayil 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
Avigayil: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Avigayil?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 624 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Avigayil 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 549,286 US residents.
Is Avigayil a common name?
We classify Avigayil as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 633 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Avigayil most popular?
The single biggest year for Avigayil was 2022, when 34 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Avigayil is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Avigayil a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Avigayil 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.
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.