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Abner

Means “father of light”*

CommonRare
Rank 2015: #1,019, 2016: #1,011, 2017: #1,029, 2018: #1,016, 2019: #1,091, 2020: #976, 2021: #1,023, 2022: #1,113, 2023: #997, 2024: #838, 2025: #8741 in 6,234 boys in the US, 2025#874 · rising · was #1,019 in 2015
CommonRare
Rank 2016: #2,556, 2017: #3,040, 2018: #2,693, 2019: #3,411, 2020: #4,608, 2021: #3,451, 2022: #4,790, 2023: #2,547, 2024: #2,444, 2025: #1,7051 in 18,129 boys in E&W, 2025#1,705 · rising · was #2,556 in 2016

Boy’s name · Hebrew · /ˈæb.nɚ/

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What Abner means

Means “father of light”

From Hebrew אבנר (Abner, “father of light”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Abner” (revision 93742645), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Abner?

US 2025
#874
274 babies
▼ 36 vs 2024
England & Wales 2025
#1705
15 babies
▲ 739 vs 2024
Scotland
–
Not listed

US: Rising: up from #1019 in 2015. England & Wales: New in the last 10 years.

00.518801920196020002025
US, 1880–2025England & Wales, 1996–2025Babies per 1,000 boys born. Dot: biggest US share (1881)

Biggest US share so far: 1881, when 30 boys got the name (#289 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

  • About 1 in 6,234 baby boys in the US in 2025
  • About 1 in 18,129 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in AL (0.37 per 1,000 boys), GA (0.36 per 1,000 boys), MD (0.35 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

AK
ME
WI
VT
NH
WA
ID
MT
ND
MN
IL
MI
NY
MA
OR
NV
WY
SD
IA
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
UT
CO
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
AZ
NM
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
DC
OK
LA
MS
AL
GA
HI
TX
FL
FewerMore · grey: under 5 babies, not listed

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Abner is #874 in the US and #1705 in England & Wales (2025).

Rank 2025BabiesHow commonRank 2015
US#8742741 in 6,234#1019
England & Wales#1705151 in 18,129–
Scotland––––

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Abner were boys.

GirlsBoys
US 20250274
England & Wales 2025015
US all years since 188009,454
England & Wales since 1996084

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

US/ˈæb.nɚ/

Wiktionary only lists the US pronunciation so far.

IPA from Wiktionary.

If you like Abner

Boys

  • Asa#483“physician, doctor, healer”
  • Elias#13Form of Elijah, meaning “Yahweh is my god”
  • Shimon#960Editor’s note Up from #1,134 in 2015 to #960 in 2025 in the US
  • Moshe#435possibly “to give birth to”
  • Asher#28Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #28 vs #150 in 2025
  • Silas#71Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #71 vs #585 in 2025

For a sister

  • Eliana#10Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #102 in 2015, #10 in 2025. 6 letters, starting with a vowel
  • Eden#70possibly “steppe, garden”
  • Selah#216“to hang”
  • Naomi#47“my pleasantness”
  • Rivka#628Same root as Rebecca, meaning “enchantingly beautiful, captivating…
  • Eliza#115Editor’s note Up from #175 in 2015 to #115 in 2025 in the US

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Bible, Hebrew, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Abner’s. Rank is US 2025.

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