Abe

“Variant of Abraham — Father of multitudes; some scholars read 'father is exalted'” — Hebrew origin

Boy's name · #2207 in the US (2025) · Heirloom

Abe is an heirloom: its strongest era came around 1898, when it ranked #215. It has thinned since but never left the records — about 9,700 boys since 1880, ranked #2207 today. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records. In New Jersey and New York it runs 4–5× its national rate.

Around the world: about 1 in 18,000 boys in Canada (2024).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 3 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Abes

Abe Vigoda — American actor (1921–2016)
Abe Lenstra — Dutch footballer (1920-1985)
Abe no Hirafu — Japanese governor (575-664)
Abe Wiersma — Dutch rower
Abe Fortas — United States Supreme Court Justice (1910-1982)

In stories & tradition

Abe Sapien — Hellboy · Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Abe — Oddworld · Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee
Abe Carver — Days of Our Lives

What Abes become

Among 266 notable people named Abe:

Business leaders appear 1.79× more often than among typical names — e.g. Abe Saperstein, American sports executive and basketball coach.

Similar names: Avrohom · Elam · Abiel · Kolbe · Arie · Ike

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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