Abigail Name Meaning, Origin, Popularity, Girl Names Like Abigail

Abigail Name Origin: Hebrew
Pronunciation: ah-bih-gail
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Abigail Name Meaning

A strong feminine name with deep biblical and historical ties, Abigail is a solid choice for parents-to-be. Famous Abigails include first ladies Abigail Adams and Abigail Fillmore and actress Abigail Breslin. With a meaning as joyous as ‘the father is rejoicing,’ there’s no doubt you’ll jump for joy with the arrival of a little Abigail.

Abigail’s history spans back centuries, appearing in the Bible as the wife of Nabal and David as well as frequently being used among the Puritans during the 16th century. She went dormant for several decades but made a resurgence in the U.S. Top 100 during the late 1980s and 1990s. She went on to crack into the Top 10 in 2001 where she remained as of 2017. For parents worried about her popularity, Abigail is trending down on the charts and will likely fall out of the Top 10 in coming years.

Abigail carries the maturity of names like Margaret or Edith but somehow manages to avoid the stuffy air often associated with the others. She remains fresh, winning over parents with her stoic strength and precious built-in nickname of Abby. Parents can also opt for the stronger Gail or cutesy Bibi.

Alternative names that are similar to Abigail include Hannah, Bethany, and Josephine.

Abigail Name Popularity

How popular is the name Abigail? Here’s everything we know.

Year	Rank	# Births	% Births
1910	—	0	0%
1911	—	0	0%
1912	—	0	0%
1913	—	0	0%
1914	—	0	0%
1915	1,359	6	0.0007%
1916	1,222	10	0.001%
1917	1,246	9	0.0009%
1918	—	0	0%
1919	—	0	0%
1920	—	0	0%
1921	—	0	0%
1922	—	0	0%
1923	1,301	11	0.001%
1924	—	0	0%
1925	1,125	17	0.0015%
1926	1,546	5	0.0005%
1927	—	0	0%
1928	1,227	12	0.0011%
1929	1,403	6	0.0006%
1930	1,551	5	0.0005%
1931	—	0	0%
1932	1,515	5	0.0005%
1933	1,484	5	0.0005%
1934	—	0	0%
1935	1,156	11	0.0011%
1936	1,077	14	0.0015%
1937	—	0	0%
1938	946	23	0.0022%
1939	1,029	18	0.0018%
1940	1,041	18	0.0017%
1941	1,212	11	0.001%
1942	1,233	13	0.001%
1943	1,062	22	0.0017%
1944	939	29	0.0023%
1945	1,183	14	0.0011%
1946	1,097	24	0.0016%
1947	1,058	32	0.0019%
1948	1,375	14	0.0009%
1949	817	72	0.0045%
1950	913	53	0.0033%
1951	764	88	0.0052%
1952	739	98	0.0056%
1953	794	90	0.0051%
1954	751	106	0.0058%
1955	709	130	0.0071%
1956	746	122	0.0065%
1957	725	141	0.0073%
1958	723	138	0.0073%
1959	702	152	0.008%
1960	675	176	0.0093%
1961	667	189	0.01%
1962	610	221	0.012%
1963	624	211	0.0118%
1964	643	205	0.0116%
1965	694	154	0.0094%
1966	703	142	0.0091%
1967	616	191	0.0126%
1968	603	205	0.0137%
1969	596	227	0.0147%
1970	535	308	0.0194%
1971	499	333	0.0222%
1972	471	340	0.025%
1973	412	433	0.0334%
1974	361	550	0.0423%
1975	355	566	0.044%
1976	282	782	0.0607%
1977	298	766	0.0568%
1978	241	984	0.0732%
1979	212	1,207	0.0856%
1980	175	1,568	0.1072%
1981	156	1,800	0.1225%
1982	158	1,870	0.1251%
1983	150	1,903	0.129%
1984	154	1,830	0.123%
1985	154	1,830	0.1206%
1986	143	1,984	0.1314%
1987	137	1,990	0.1304%
1988	118	2,368	0.152%
1989	94	3,397	0.2105%
1990	90	3,710	0.2238%
1991	92	3,795	0.2328%
1992	86	3,986	0.2497%
1993	67	5,184	0.3325%
1994	42	7,240	0.4718%
1995	36	7,821	0.5189%
1996	32	8,604	0.5746%
1997	26	9,626	0.6508%
1998	18	11,099	0.7416%
1999	18	11,681	0.78%
2000	14	13,088	0.8568%
2001	8	14,807	0.9827%
2002	7	15,297	1.0208%
2003	6	15,925	1.0468%
2004	6	15,424	1.012%
2005	4	15,749	1.0301%
2006	6	15,627	0.998%
2007	8	15,468	0.9804%
2008	8	15,081	0.9758%
2009	8	14,387	0.9626%
2010	7	14,243	0.9884%
2011	7	13,247	0.9298%
2012	7	12,697	0.891%
2013	8	12,405	0.8713%
2014	8	12,076	0.8288%
2015	7	12,390	0.8515%
2016	8	11,747	0.8147%
2017	10	10,551	0.756%
2018	11	9,796	0.713%
2019	11	9,106	0.6727%
2020	13	7,712	0.6059%
2021	17	6,420	0.5252%
2022	24	6,254	0.4741%

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Data via SSA.gov.

Names Like Abigail

If you like Abigail, you’ll love these other names like Abigail.

What names are diminutives of Abigail?

A diminutive is a name that’s like Abigail sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Abigail, but shorter.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Abba	Father of exaltation	Hebrew
Abbe	Father of exaltation	Hebrew
Abbee	Father of exaltation	Hebrew
Abbey	Father of exaltation	Hebrew
Abbi	Father of exaltation	Hebrew
Abbie	Father of exaltation	Hebrew
Abby	Father of exaltation	Hebrew
Gael	A Celt	Gaelic
Gail	Father of exaltation	Hebrew
Gaila	Father of exaltation	Hebrew
Gal	Father of exaltation	Hebrew

What names are variants of Abigail?

Mix it up with these names that are a variation of the name Abigail.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Abagael	Father of exaltation	Hebrew
Abagail	Father of exaltation	Hebrew
Abagale	Father of exaltation	Hebrew

Abageal	Father of exaltation	Hebrew
Abagil	Father of exaltation	Hebrew
Abaigael	Father of exaltation	Hebrew
Abbatha	Combination of Abby and Tabitha	American
Abbegail	Father of exaltation	Hebrew
Abbegale	Father of exaltation	Hebrew
Abbigael	Father of exaltation	Hebrew
Abbigail	Father of exaltation	Hebrew
Abbigale	Father of exaltation	Hebrew
Abbigayle	Father of exaltation	Hebrew
Abbygael	Father of exaltation	Hebrew
Abbygail	Father of exaltation	Hebrew
Abbygale	Father of exaltation	Hebrew
Abegail	Father of exaltation	Hebrew
Abegale	Father of exaltation	Hebrew

Abgail	Father of exaltation	Hebrew
Abigael	Father of exaltation	Hebrew
Abigal	Father of exaltation; exalted father	Hebrew
Abigale	Father of exaltation	Hebrew
Abigall	Father of exaltation	Hebrew
Abigayl	Father of exaltation	Hebrew
Abigayle	Father of exaltation	Hebrew
Abigel	Father of exaltation	Hebrew
Abigil	Father of exaltation	Hebrew

What names sound like Abigail?

If you like how Abigail sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Abigail.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Abebi	She came after asking	African
Abeer	Aroma, scent	Arabic
Abeesha	God is my father	Hebrew
Abellona	Destroyer	Greek
Abia	Great	Arabic
Abiah	God is my father	Hebrew

Abila	Beautiful	Latin

What names are similar to Abigail?

Find a name that’s like Abigail, but just a little bit different.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Anna	Gracious	Hebrew
Catherine	Pure	Greek
Elizabeth	God is my oath	Hebrew
Hannah	Grace	Hebrew
Judith	From Judea; Jewish	Hebrew
Louise	Famous warrior	German
Olivia	Olive tree	Latin
Rebecca	To join	Hebrew
Ruth	Friend	Hebrew
Theresa	Late summer	Greek

Lists With Abigail

Find inspiration in these baby girl name lists featuring the name Abigail.

Siblings of Abigail

Mamas with kids named Abigail also have kids with these names.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Minerva	The mind	Latin
Isaiah	God is salvation	Hebrew
Leo	Lion	Latin
Chloe	Green sprout	Greek

Kelsie	Victorious ship	English
Destiny	Determined fate	English
Ezra	Help	Hebrew
Alora	My Dream	African
Theodore	God's gift	Greek
Thorin	Thunder	Scandinavian
Austin	Great	English
Abbott	Father, priest	English

Share Your Thoughts

50 Comments

Marc A Sep 18 at 5:55 pm

love it

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Leah Jul 14 at 1:11 pm

I had a dream we gave her this name, also it’s a biblical name which is what we wanted.

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Skylar Jun 13 at 11:13 am

My husband picked it out because of both the story of Abigail in the bible and also the meaning: my father’s joy. We didn’t find out the gender until she was here and that was extra special!

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Grace Mar 20 at 11:35 am

We fell in love with it when we learned that it means “her father’s joy”.

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Sarah Mar 11 at 2:23 pm

Abigail means “father’s delight”. It’s the perfect name for our double rainbow baby that reminds us not only of delight in her, but also of our Heavenly Father’s delight in our blessing our family with a second precious child.

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Ashley Dec 16 at 7:31 am

Beautiful classic name

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Jillian Oct 10 at 7:45 am

I chose Abigail because I love older names and the nickname Abby. Abby is also an anagram for baby lol

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Joanna Sep 10 at 2:25 am

It’s cute, classic, but not too common. I’ll be calling her Abigail, not Abby. She’s perfect.

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marcia Jul 4 at 6:01 am

My thoughts of my baby’s name is beautiful I love sounding out her name, it suits her well but most of all me and her daddy call her ‘abby’ ?

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Patricia Jan 11 at 4:25 pm

I chose the name Abigail because I’ve loved the name since I was 9 years old and always wanted my first born daughter to have that name.

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Amy Oct 27 at 7:09 am

Always a timeless classy name for a girl.

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Ashita Sep 20 at 7:26 am

Love the sound

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Alex Jul 31 at 7:17 am

Abigail is our rainbow baby after a loss. She is baby #4 and has been a blessing to our whole family. She brings so much joy to us.

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Natalie May 18 at 1:22 pm

Thought it was a sweet biblical name

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Natalie May 6 at 12:30 pm

I thought the name was sweet and it’s biblical

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Daniel Feb 18 at 4:31 am

Strong, wise, brave & beautiful.

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Christina Finster Feb 10 at 10:09 am

We love more old school names and this one just clicked with us.

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Mama J Oct 13 at 8:45 am

Abigail means “Father’s Joy.” It is very fitting for our family. We love how it is sweet and southern. We also love calling her Abbie or Ab’s. We love her name!

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Lorena May 13 at 10:26 am

I chose Abigail bc it means fathers joy in Hebrew and we added an H as well for Abighail like hail, for powerful bc it took me 15 years to have her after doctors told me I couldn’t have any children. So she is definitely my biggest blessing in life!

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Mama Mar 8 at 9:44 am

Abigail means ‘Father’s joy’ and, as Christians, we loved the double meaning – she truly brings joy to her Dad but also her Father in heaven!

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Monica Nov 12 at 10:14 am

Both of us really liked the name and when I read the meaning “father’s joy” it was a meant to be. I also like the nickname Abbie.

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Ashley Jul 27 at 12:41 pm

I’ve always liked the name Abigail but I choose that name so her nickname could be Abby

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Mama shawnte Jul 22 at 11:45 pm

Abigail from the Bible was married to a harsh and selfish man. Abigail kept King David from murdering Abigail’s husband and his whole household by bravely and wisely going before David speaking life to him and it softened his heart and he spared their lives. By trusting God and speaking life she was a wise, brave, and thoughtful peacemaker.

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Christina Jul 15 at 2:36 pm

My husband was meditating one day, and although he wasn’t trying to think of names for our little girl, the name Abigail just popped into his mind out of the blue. He told me when he came home that night and my heart skipped a beat when I heard the name. We both knew that was her name! Then, I looked it up, and it means ‘Father’s Joy’…her father’s joy about her in our life is unparalleled. So, that’s how it came to be. :0)

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Mama Judith Jun 8 at 8:41 am

The name Abigail was chosed by my husband, when he called our baby Abigail I didn’t like it but I decided to let him call her that, so far he didn’t stop me from calling our baby the native name I gave her, but when I checked the name I fell in love with the name Abigail because it means father’s joy, truly my daughter Abigail is my husband’s joy, Abigail came into our lives after 8 years in marriage. Thanks

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Katherine Apr 17 at 2:49 pm

We love the classic name. Her father needs smiles brought to his face – he struggles with depression. Abigail means Father’s Joy. She makes both of us smile!

Only thing I don’t like I just saw on a TV show – prospective parents dismissing the name Abigail because mean kids could use the nickname “Scabby Abby” wouldn’t change our decision though!

She is very sweet and bright. She sleeps really well too!

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Taylor Apr 2 at 4:06 pm

We chose Abigail because the diminutive Abby is cute and it was the only name my husband and I agreed on.

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Anna Feb 22 at 10:22 am

We literally decided upon it while I was in early labor. She was born and it fit.

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Kat Feb 12 at 2:11 am

My daughter loves the cartoon series spirit and one of the little girls name is Abigail on the show. You don’t hear that name much and I knew in my heart it was a perfect fit for my baby

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Jen Feb 6 at 8:52 pm

Abigail is an Irish name, and my husband’s heritage is Irish. It means “a father’s joy,” which felt very appropriate. St. Abigail is the patron saint of beekeepers, and my husband hopes to eventually keep bees one day. The anglicized version of Abigail is Deborah, which was my aunt’s name (she recently passed away from leukemia, so we partially named our Abby in her honor when we learned this). The baby’s middle name is Evelyn, which means “longed for child,” and was also my great-grandmother’s name.

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Lesley Montes Jan 16 at 10:27 am

Me and my husband picked the name
Abigail because we wanted a name from the Bible and also because it means father’s Joy her nickname is Rose I picked Rose because it’s unique not alot of people have it and it also goes with her first name.

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Hiedi Jan 1 at 10:50 am

Abigail is my fourth child, but my first daughter. Her name means ‘The Father’s joy’ and she definitely has brought her daddy joy.
I always pray over what I should name my children. I believe a child’s name should have impact and meaning.
I love the name Abigail because in the Bible it suggests that she was a woman who stood for what was righ no matter what and won a kings heart. ?

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Jessica Nov 13 at 11:12 am

My daughter was born on my birthday. And my grandmother used to call me Abigail when i was younger. My middle name is Abbey. When we found out i was pregnant with a girl Abigail pop in my head as if someone said it. My grandmother passed away 3 years ago. And i felt it was perfect for her.

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Katie Sep 8 at 9:15 am

None

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Ansie Aug 28 at 4:07 am

It means joy if my Father. In Bible she was a very wise woman.

I want to call her Abi/ Abby but an unsure about best way to spell it

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- Frances Howlett Mantle Apr 17 at 3:36 am
  
  Abbie is much nicer
  
  Reply
Emily Aug 18 at 9:15 pm

We went with the name Abigail because it means fathers joy.. and I really liked that my husband has always wanted a family and it has been 4 years to finally get pregnant so fathers joy just stuck with me so we named her Abigail

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Rachel Aug 16 at 10:59 am

My husband and I chose Abigail for two reasons. One was because it was biblical two since Abigail is our first daughter I wanted it to be strong and special for my husband. Abigail means ‘Father’s Joy’ ,and she truly is her father’s joy!

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Trina Aug 14 at 10:13 am

She is a sweet girl

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Nicky Jun 23 at 1:51 pm

We struggled with infertility for 10+ years. A little over 3 years ago, one night I was crying & asking God why when I very clearly felt the Lord whisper to my soul- ‘you will be a mom, you will have a little girl & give her the name Abigail.’ It wasn’t a name I’d typically pick (didn’t help I had a not-so-nice classmate in grade school with this name), but I looked up the meaning & I immediately knew- this would be my daughter’s name, a promise & gift from God. Fast forward 3 years to just a week ago, I was 41+ weeks pregnant waiting for my sweet girl to decide to make her debut. When I finally went into labor, we were anxious to meet her, but we had no idea it would be 27 more long hours before that happened, but God knew. He set aside Father’s Day 2019 as our sweet Abigail’s birthday & in that moment, her name held even more meaning- “Father’s joy.” What a true joy she is- an answer to so many prayers, tears & questions on a really long journey. We couldn’t be more blessed with our sweet little Abby.

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Justine Jun 14 at 9:14 am

I have always liked the name Abigail. But came across St Abigail about a year or two before our daughter was in the picture. I fell in love with the saint. And then invoked her intercession for the weather to be good on our wedding day (it was supposed to be gloomy and rain, but ended up being a beautiful sunny and not too hot day!!). The when our daughter cane into the picture I learned that Abigail is Hebrew for “The Father is Happy” and sadly I did not know that there is an Abigail in the Old Testament! So all things added up.. and then she was born on St Patrick’s Day, an Irish saint, like St Abigail!
The only thing I dislike about the name is it’s popularity. I have a unique name and have always loved being the only one in my circle with it. Abigail tends to be popular, especially as Abby.

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Ellen Jun 8 at 5:15 pm

Abigail means fathers joy or fathers rejoice.
She is our last baby and my husband wanted a girl.

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Sara Jun 8 at 3:44 pm

About 5 years before Abigail was even born, God have me a dream that I had a baby girl. This was before I was even married or even thought I wanted kids. In the dream, I remember that she nursed well instantly and that three times I was prompted to name her “Abigail”. I wasn’t sure why I was told to name her that, because it’s not a name I would have chosen on my own. When I looked up that her name meant “father’s joy; fountain of joy; brings joy”, and that Abigail in the Bible was a valiant woman, described as “strong, beautiful, intelligent”, I felt such affirmation that if I should ever have a girl, she would have that name. Believe it or not, 5 years later we named our first baby girl this name and she has nursed well from the start and brings more joy than I could have ever imagined!

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- Rina Dec 21 at 8:00 am
  
  We are naming our baby girl Abigail Rose. I will mostly call her Abbie. I liked Isabelle, Arielle, Abigail and Amelia. My husband instantly picked Abigail from my list. Now I know, it means father’s joy. I like how it’s a strong women’s name and that Abigail from the Bible was strong, intelligent and beautiful.
  
  Reply
Emily Jun 8 at 1:50 pm

My husband always loved two girls’ names since he was very young: Emily and Abigail. He married me (Emily) and then we had a baby girl and named her Abigail. I know the name means a lot to my husband, especially since he was hoping for a little girl. I had learned that Abigail means “the Father’s joy,” so I figured there was no better name to give our little girl.

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Lois Jun 8 at 10:41 am

We made a list of classic names of strong women (Abigail Adams) and then waited until baby was born to see which name fit the best. 🙂

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- Bency Sep 20 at 9:52 am
  
  My wife was pregnant and some how in my mind i had a strong conviction that our first child was going to be a boy and i was even ready with a boy name .
  
  On her delivery day ,i was waiting outside the labour room (In our country ,husbands had to wait outside the labour room) and the nurse called out my wife’s name and it was the moment i knew that the wait was finally over .I came running and the nurse told that its a girl child born to me.
  
  I couldn’t believe initially and i had a confused mind and i was like ,in my mind “Are you sure ?”.
  Then i looked at the girl child and she just turned and gazed towards me as if she knows i was waiting outside for her.
  
  I can’t explain that moment and i felt a never before burst of joy Inside my heart .She is the cause of that joy and we named her ‘Abigail’ .
  Its a biblical name meaning “Her father rejoices”, not only earthly dad but the father in heaven as well.
  
  Reply
Megan Apr 23 at 3:22 pm

Always loved the name

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Clementine Apr 22 at 5:05 pm

Abigail means ‘the Father’s joy’. We wanted a name with a meaning cos it’s part of her identity. We believe God is super happy with his little daughter. Then when she was born and I saw how much a joy she was to my hubby, it was just perfect, and still is. Even to non-believers it might be a beautiful meaningful name:)

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Kristina Apr 12 at 10:18 am

My husband chose the name because it means ‘fathers joy or delight’!

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Abigail