Abel

Where Abel comes from

From Middle English Abel, from Old English Ābel, from Latin Abel, from Ancient Greek Ἅβελ (Hábel), from Biblical Hebrew הֶבֶל (Héḇel, “Abel”), possibly from the homonymous word הֶבֶל (heḇel, “breath, vapor; vanity”) or from Akkadian 𒌉𒍑 (ablu, “son”).
— Wiktionary's entry for Abel
  • Hebrew
  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1603
    Abel Tasman born
    Dutch seafarer, explorer and merchant
  2. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #640 among boys — 9 babies in the first year on record.
  3. 1889
    Abel Gance born
    French film director and producer, writer and actor
  4. 2015
    Peak, #124
    3,245 babies named Abel — more than any year before or since.
  5. 2025
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #231.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name from Hebrew.
Namesakes
  • Abel Tasman · Dutch seafarer, explorer and merchant, 1603–1659
  • Abel Gance · French film director and producer, writer and actor, 1889–1981
  • Abel Hernández · Uruguayan association football player, born 1990
  • Abel of Denmark · King of Denmark, 1218–1252
  • Abel Aguilar · Colombian association football player, born 1985

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.