Abel
A surname from the biblical personal name Abel, originally meaning “breath” or “vapor.”
The #1,958 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 16,721 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Abel comes from the medieval personal name Abel, ultimately from the Hebrew name Hevel, usually understood as meaning “breath,” “vapor,” or “vanity.” It passed into Europe through biblical tradition and became a common given name in the Middle Ages. In English surnames, it usually began as a simple patronymic or hereditary surname taken from the personal name rather than from a place or occupation.
History
The name appears early in English records and was already common enough in the medieval period to generate variants such as Abell. It also remained in use as a given name, which helped the surname continue in several branches independently. Some historical writers noted that Abel was a fairly popular personal name in England, especially in the Middle Ages.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some older English sources suggest that “Nab” could be used as a nickname for Abel, showing how flexible medieval nickname formation could be.
From the historical record
“find no such word. ABEL. ABELL. From the personal name. It frequently occurs temp. Edwd. I. in the same forms. ^^ ABEE. A Celtic prefix to many names of places, signifying " anj' locality of marked character, either kuolly or marsliy, near the mouth of a stream, whelhcr the stream falls into a lake or sea, or runs…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United KingdomNotable people named Abel
- Niels Henrik Abel (1802–1829)
- Othenio Abel (1875–1946)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.