Abraham

What Abraham means

Means “father of + multitude of”

Thompson suggests that the meaning of the name in Genesis was forgotten due to its age and that its original meaning was "Father is exalted." Glossed as אַב (aḇ, “father of”) + הֲמוֹן (hăˈmōn, “multitude of”) in Genesis 17:4–5; or from Hebr

Source: Wiktionary, “Abraham” (revision 94534309), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Abraham?

US: Falling: down from #170 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #470 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2016, when 2,584 boys got the name (#157 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 1,026 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 4,609 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 6,547 baby boys in Scotland 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 NY (3.03 per 1,000 boys), RI (2.56 per 1,000 boys), NV (1.77 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

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

US vs UK

Abraham is #209 in the US and #627 in England & Wales (2025).

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 Abraham were boys.

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

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Ibrahim939 US · 731 E&W
• Ebrahim27 US · 14 E&W
• Abrahim23 US · 3 E&W

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

Nicknames

• Abe
• Abey
• Abie

Listed on Wiktionary under “pet forms”.

If you like Abraham

Boys

• Luke#33Editor’s note Down from #28 in 2015 to #33 in 2025 in the US. About 1 in 250 US boys in the 2025 records
• Josiah#54Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #54 vs #226 in 2025
• Malachi#134“my messenger”^*
• Elijah#7“Yahweh is my god”^*
• Solomon#422“peace”^*
• Nehemiah#429“consolation of Yahweh”^*

For a sister

• Lydia#92“the region of Lydia”^*
• Eve#519Editor’s note Down from #470 in 2015 to #519 in 2025 in the US
• Ava#11Editor’s note Down from #4 in 2015 to #11 in 2025 in the US. About 1 in 210 US girls in the 2025 records
• Isabella#7Form of Isabel, meaning “my God is an oath”^*
• Sarai#424“master, chief”^*
• Maya#62Editor’s note Steady in the US: #68 in 2015 and #62 in 2025. About 1 in 430 US girls in the 2025 records

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 Abraham’s. Rank is US 2025.