Abel
The 2025 national count puts Abel at #231, drifting down from its high. The records carry it back to 1880, but its real era is now, 66,037 American children have carried it so far.
What Abel carries
Abel · Hebrew
“breath”
Source: Charlotte M. Yonge, History of Christian Names (1884), see our sources.
Abel’s free Name Kit
Five printables for Abel, drawn in your browser at print size the moment you ask: a name print for the wall, a nursery sign, a tracing sheet, a shortlist sheet, and twelve sibling names with the reason for each. Letter size, 300 dpi, in the site’s own hand.
- Name print Meaning, origin and the popularity curve on one sheet, ready for a frame.
- Nursery sign The name big and bright, for a door, a shelf or the top of a dresser.
- Tracing sheet The name in dotted letters, with room to go over it again and again.
- Shortlist sheet A page for weighing names side by side: initials, nicknames, how it sounds with yours.
- Sibling names sheet Twelve names that go with this one, each with the reason, from the sibling matcher.
Name print
Meaning, origin and the popularity curve on one sheet, ready for a frame.
Nursery sign
The name big and bright, for a door, a shelf or the top of a dresser.
Tracing sheet
The name in dotted letters, with room to go over it again and again.
Shortlist sheet
A page for weighing names side by side: initials, nicknames, how it sounds with yours.
Sibling names sheet
Twelve names that go with this one, each with the reason, from the sibling matcher.
Print on plain letter paper or heavier card; the sign and the print look best on matte stock.
Abel since 1880
Abel peaked in 2015 at #124; #231 in 2025.
United States national data, Social Security Administration, through 2025, how we use it.
Where Abel is most common
Among the states, Abel takes its largest share in Rhode Island, 0.22% of the boys' names recorded there in 2025, with Maine and New Mexico next.
Share of the state's recorded names for that sex, from the Social Security Administration's state file; a name is listed in a state only when five or more babies received it there that year.
Names that sit near Abel
Same shelf of the library: origin, era and shape, scored deterministically.
Asher
#28 in 2025 · Hebrew
Simon
#230 in 2025 · Hebrew
Rafael
#218 in 2025 · Hebrew
Miguel
#212 in 2025 · Hebrew
Zara
#212 in 2025 · Hebrew
Judah
#178 in 2025 · Hebrew
Ivan
#163 in 2025 · Hebrew
Diego
#158 in 2025 · Hebrew
Browse: names starting with A · Hebrew names · all names
About Abel
How popular is the name Abel?
The 2025 national count puts Abel at #231, drifting down from its high. The chart above draws the whole run since 1880, from the Social Security Administration's public data.
Does Abel have a meaning on record?
In our cited reference the recorded gloss is “breath”, of Hebrew origin (Charlotte M. Yonge, History of Christian Names (1884)).
Is there a sibling name for Abel?
On origin, era, syllables and first letter, Asher sits closest, with Simon and Rafael just behind. Give the matcher the names already in the house and it scores the whole top thousand against them.
Get Abel’s free Name Kit
Five printables made in your browser: a name print for the wall, a nursery sign, a tracing sheet, a shortlist sheet and twelve sibling names with the reason for each. Yours in a moment, for one email.
Make the kitThe book is in the works
A printed picture book where Abel earns every letter of their own name, page by page. See the preview pages and hear when it is ready.
Preview the book