Abigail is a feminine given name. The name comes from the Biblical Hebrew: אֲבִיגַיִל / אֲבִיגָיִל ʾĂḇīḡayīl, meaning "my father's joy" (alternatively "my father is exulted" or "my father is joyful", among others).[1][2] It is also a surname.
The name can be shortened to "Abbey", "Abby", "Abbi", "Abbie", "Abi", "Abs", or "Aby", as well as "Gail", "Gayle", among others.
Biblical name
- Abigail was the wife of King David in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Samuel, and is described as an intelligent, beautiful, loyal woman.
- Abigail was the mother of Amasa, the commander-in-chief of Absalom's army (2 Samuel 17:25).[3]
Translations
- Arabic: ابيجايل "Abigail" (Egypt) ابيغيل "Abighail" (other Arab countries).
- Bengali: এবিগেল (Ēbigēla)
- Biblical Greek: Abigaia
- Biblical Hebrew: אביגיל
- Bulgarian: Абигейл
- Catalan: Abigail
- Cantonese: 阿比基爾 (aa3 bei5 gei1 ji5)
- Chinese Simplified: 阿比盖尔 (Ā bǐ gài ěr)
- Chinese Traditional: 艾比蓋兒
- Czech: Abigel
- Danish: Abigail, Abigael
- Dutch: Abigail, Abigaïl
- Fijian: Apikali
- French: Abigaïl, Abigaël
- German: Abigail
- Greek: Άμπιγκεϊλ (Ámpinkeïl)
- Gujarati: એબીગેઇલ (Ēbīgē'ila)
- Haitian Creole: Abigayèl
- Hawaiian: Apikalia, ʻApikaʻila
- Hebrew: אביגיל, Avigail / Abigail, אֲבִיגָיִל (ʾĂḇîḡáyil)
- Hindi: अबीगैल
- Hungarian: Abigél
- Indonesian: Abigail
- Irish: Abigeál
- Italian: Abigaille
- Japanese: アビゲイル (Abigeiru)
- Korean: 애비게일 (Aebigeil)
- Macedonian: Авигеја (Avigeja)
- Maori: Apikaira
- Mongolian: Ивээл (ᠢᠪᠡᠭᠡᠯ)
- Nepali: अबीगेलले (Abīgēlalē)
- Persian: آبیگل - ابیگیل - ابیگل
- Polish: Abigeil
- Portuguese: Abigail
- Punjabi: ਅਬੀਗੈਲ (Abīgaila)
- Romanian: Abigaela
- Russian: Эбиге́йл (Ebigeil) or Авиге́я (Avigeya); the latter used exclusively in biblical contexts[4]
- Serbian: Абигејл (Abigejl) but in biblical context Ависага (Avisaga) is used
- Somali: Abiigayil
- Spanish: Abigaíl
- Swahili: Abigaeli
- Swedish: Abigail
- Turkish: Abigail, Avigayil
- Ukrainian: Абіґейл (Abigeil)
- Urdu: ابیگیل
- Yiddish: אַביגאַיל
- Yoruba: Ábígẹlì
People with the given name
- Abigail Adams née Smith (1744–1818), First Lady of the United States to President John Adams
- Abigail Abbot Bailey (1746–1815), American memoirist
- Abigail Bauleke (born 2001), American wheelchair basketball player
- Abigail Binay (born 1975), Filipina politician
- Abigail Breslin (born 1996), American actress
- Abigail Byskata (born 2007), Finnish ice hockey player
- Abigail Camilleri, Maltese politician
- Abi Carter (born 2002), American singer and musician
- Abbey Clancy (born 1986), English model
- Abigail Conceição de Souza (1921–2007), Brazilian footballer
- Abbie Cornish (born 1982), Australian actress
- Abigail Cowen (born 1998), American actress
- Abigail Cruttenden (born 1969), English television actress
- Abby Dahlkemper (born 1993), American soccer player
- Abigail Fillmore née Powers (1798–1853), First Lady of the United States to President Millard Fillmore
- Abigail Folger (1943–1969), American heiress and murder victim
- Abigail Glen (born 2001), English cricketer
- Annette Abigael Hamilton (1806–1879), Norwegian author and fairy-tale collector
- Abigail and Brittany Hensel (born 1990), American conjoined twins
- Abigail Franks (c. 1696–1756), Colonial-era New York City Jewish woman and letter writer
- Abigael González Valencia (born 1972), Mexican suspected drug lord
- Abigail Griffin, American politician
- Abigail Campbell Kawānanakoa (1882–1945), Hawaiian princess
- Abigail Kapiolani Kawānanakoa (1903–1961), Hawaiian princess
- Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kawānanakoa (1926–2022), Hawaiian princess
- Abigail Maheha (1832–1861), Hawaiian princess
- Abigail Masham, Baroness Masham (c.1670–1734), British baroness
- Abi Morgan (born 1968), Welsh playwright and screenwriter
- Abigail Morris (born 1964), British arts administrator
- Abigail Morris (born 1999), British singer-songwriter
- Abigail Paduch (born 2000), Australian judoka
- Abigail (actress), aka Abigail Rogan (born 1946), Australian actress
- Abigail Rogers, (1818–1869) American advocate for women's rights and women's education
- Abigail Seldin (born 1988), American edtech entrepreneur
- Abigail Adams Smith (1765–1813), first-born child of John Adams, the former President of the United States
- Abigail Smith
- Abigail Spanberger (born 1979), American politician
- Abigail Willis Tenney Smith (1809–1885), missionary to the Sandwich Islands; teacher
- Abigail Spears (born 1981), American tennis player
- Abigail Spencer (born 1981), American actress
- Abigail Swann, American atmospheric scientist and ecologist
- Abigael Tarus (born 1981), Kenyan volleyball player
- Abigail Thorn (born 1993), British actress and YouTuber who runs the channel "Philosophy Tube"
- Abi Titmuss (born 1976), British actress
- Abigail Van Buren, pen name of Pauline Philips, pseudonymous author of the Dear Abby column
- Abigail Goodrich Whittelsey (1788–1858), American educator, publisher, editor
- Abigail Williams (Salem witch trials) (1680–c.1697), a primary accuser in the Salem witch trials; portrayed in the Arthur Miller play The Crucible
- Madison Abigail Less (born 1998), American soccer player
Fictional characters
- Abigail, a character in the South Korean action-comedy webtoon series Denma
- Abigail, a character in the Acts of Faith trilogy by T. Davis Bunn and Janette Oke, wife of Stephen (St. Stephen)
- Abigail, a boss villain character in the Final Fight series, and most recently a playable character in Street Fighter V.
- Abigail, the titular vampire character with the appearance of a 12-year-old girl in the 2024 horror comedy film Abigail
- Abby, a 12-year-old vampire character in the 2010 film Let Me In
- Abigaille, a character in Giuseppe Verdi's opera Nabucco
- Abigail, one of the characters available for marriage in farming simulation role-playing video game Stardew Valley
- Dark Priest Abigail, in the Bastard!! Japanese manga/anime series
- Mother Abagail, the personification of good in Stephen King's novel The Stand
- Princess Abigail, the haughty daughter of King Midas on the ABC television series, Once Upon a Time
- Abigail the Breeze Fairy, a character from the Rainbow Magic book franchise
- Abigail Anderson (aka Abby or Abs), playable character in Naughty Dog's videogame The Last of Us Part II
- Abigail "Abby" Archer, the main protagonist in the Canadian animated television series Grossology
- Abbey Bartlet, the First Lady of the United States in the television drama The West Wing
- Abigail Bennett, one of the main protagonists in the 2019 short drama film Abigail
- Abigail Bellweather, a character from the TV series Motherland: Fort Salem
- Abigail Bird, a supporting character in the 1976–2000 American comic strip Motley's Crew
- Abigail Brand, Special Agent, commanding officer of S.W.O.R.D., that deals with defending the Earth from extraterrestrial threats
- Abi Branning, in the BBC soap opera EastEnders
- Abigail Brown, a character in Diary of a Wimpy Kid
- Abigail Callaghan, a minor character from the 2014 Disney 3D computer-animated film Big Hero 6
- Abigail Chase in National Treasure film franchise
- Abigail Deveraux, student in the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives
- Abigail Dixon, a student in the Australian mockumentary Summer Heights High
- Abby Hammond, daughter character in the television series Santa Clarita Diet
- Abby Hatcher, the eponymous protagonist in the Nick Jr. animated television series Abby Hatcher
- Abby Holland, DC Comics character
- Abigail Lincoln (aka Numbuh 5), a female black character from the Cartoon Network animated television series Codename: Kids Next Door
- Abby Lockhart, medical doctor in the television drama ER
- Abby Maitland, zoologist in the British television series Primeval
- Abigail Mathers, a stranger and freaks character in Grand Theft Auto V
- Abigail Mills, character in Sleepy Hollow
- Abigail Murfitt, a character in the Paradise Barn novels, written by Victor Watson
- Abigail Pershing, formerly known as Abagail Merriwick, is a main character in the Hallmark Channel original series The Good Witch
- Abigail Roberts, the name of John Marston's wife in Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2
- Abigail Rook, protagonist of the Jackaby novel series
- Abigail Scanlan, one of the leads in the ABC Family movie Revenge of the Bridesmaids, played by Raven-Symoné
- Abby Sciuto, forensic scientist in the television drama NCIS
- Abigail Stevenson, in The Baby-sitters Club children's book series by Ann Martin
- Abigail Stone, a supporting Jewish character from the 2021 animated film Spirit Untamed
- Abigail Jane Stewart in Kristiana Gregory's The Winter of Red Snow: The Revolutionary War Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart
- Abigail Stock, a supporting character in the British television series Skins
- Abigail Trant, a character from the 1991 film The Man in the Moon
- Abigail Williams, character in the CBS soap opera As the World Turns
- Abigail Zenobia, a daughter of Valentine Michael Smith and Anne in the 1961 science fiction novel Stranger in a Strange Land
People with the surname
- Francis Abigail (1840–1921), Australian politician
- Peter Abigail (born 1948), Australian army officer
- Robert Abigail (born 1980), Dutch DJ
See also
- All pages with titles containing Avigail
- Gilla (disambiguation)
- Avigayil, an Israeli settlement
References
Notes
- ^ Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006). A Dictionary of First Names. Oxford paperback reference. Oxford University Press. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1. Retrieved 2018-11-17.
- ^ from either the verbal root g-y-l "to rejoice" directly, or from the root noun gil "rejoicing, joy". Adele Berlin in: Carol L. Meyers, Toni Craven, Ross Shepard Kraemer (eds.), Women in Scripture: A Dictionary of Named and Unnamed Women in the Hebrew Bible, the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books, and the New Testament, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2000, p. 43
- ^ Hoiberg, Dale H., ed. (2010). "Abigail". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. I: A-ak Bayes (15th ed.). Chicago, IL: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. pp. 32. ISBN 978-1-59339-837-8.
- ^ Superanskaya, p. 250
Sources
- А. В. Суперанская (A. V. Superanskaya). "Современный словарь личных имён: Сравнение. Происхождение. Написание" (Modern Dictionary of First Names: Comparison. Origins. Spelling). Айрис-пресс. Москва, 2005. ISBN 5-8112-1399-9
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