Abel is a distinctive girls' name in United States, ranking #14959 in 2025 with 5 recorded births. This places Abel in the bottom 14% of ranked US girls' names for the year. Its actual usage is classified as Rare. The name reached its all-time peak in 2021 with 12 births ranking #8458. In 2025, approximately 1 in every 321,453 girls born was named Abel. STABLE Recent data shows the name is currently stable.
Abel comes from the Hebrew name Hevel and is usually understood to mean "breath" or "vapour". It is a short, ancient biblical name with a soft sound and a long history of use.
In the Bible, Abel is the second son of Adam and Eve. The name entered wider European use through Jewish and Christian tradition and has remained familiar across many languages.