Ab

#12,013 in 2025Boys' name

Father of light, through Abner

Ab has been given to 380 babies in the U.S. since 1880. In 2025 it ranked #12,013 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2007, with 41 recorded.

Babies named Ab, 2025

1 in 663,000

Ab over time, 1880–2025

Boys

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Ab: meaning, origin, and history

Father of light, through Abner

Hebrew

What Ab means

Ab belongs to the name family reached through Ab → Abner. Its meaning is “father of light”.

Origin, language, and formation

Ab is used in English. Its origins include Hebrew.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Abner.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Ab is pronounced /æb/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 380 boys were recorded with the name Ab between 1880 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 41 in 2007; its best national rank was #835 in 1885.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #9,556 in 2020 to #12,013 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #10,651 in 2015 to #12,013 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Ab?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025: 1 in 663,000; 5 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only: 1 in 342,000; <0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025: #12,013; of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size: 459,581 kids; Even odds of a second one

Where Ab sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%

Class of 30Under 1%

Grade of 100Under 1%

School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 459,581 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Ab. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Abs were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Ab was born before 2004 — so the typical Ab is around 21 today.

Median birth year: 2004; About 21 years old
Biggest decade: 2000s; 64.2% of all use
Born in the last 25 years: 70.8%; A modern name
Recorded since 1950: 310; People you could plausibly meet

Choose a decade

2000s — 64.2% of all recorded uses (244).

Is Ab rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago: —; Not ranked then
Rank vs 5 years ago: −2,457; Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago: −1,362; Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago: 0.83×; Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak: 12.2%; Peak was 2007 (41)
Years since peak: 18; Years
Year-to-year steadiness: Volatile; 31.4% average annual change
Best rank ever: #835; 1885

Where Ab is used

Across 1910–2025, Ab was most concentrated in California — about 1 in — boys, against 1 in 323,117 across all states with data. It was least common in Texas (1 in —).

00 per 100,000

State popularity map

Most concentrated

1California1 in —
2Texas1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Ab has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Ab around the world

Where Ab ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

France
1952–1970
#1,389
in 1970

Popularity data from Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0.

Ab by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025: #12,013
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: Down 2,457
Best rank ever: #835; 1885
Peak year: 2007; 41 that year
First recorded: 1880
Last recorded: 2025
All-time count: 380
Count in 2025: 5

Names similar to Ab

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

Abu Abid Abdi Abhi Abir Abie Abdur Abdou Able Abrar Abem Abas Abeer Abdulwahab Abba Ehab Abdel Abijah Awab Abhay Abed Abb Abdoul Abass

Sibling names for Ab

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

For a sister

Sydni Shyann Sydnie Rhianna Jacquelin Halie Jaiden Jazmyne

For a brother

Kale Jarod Aaden Keven Jamarcus Gavyn Nevin Zakary

Explore around Ab

Top names of 2007, Ab's peak year The 2000s in full Other names that peaked in 1885 Boys' names starting with A