| The boy name Abraham [ 3 syll. a-bra-ham, ab-rah-am ] is pronounced EYBRahHHAEM KEY. Abraham is of Hebrew origin, and it is used largely in the Dutch, English, German, and Hebrew languages. Abraham's meaning is 'father of a multitude'. Biblical name derived from av meaning 'father' ; hamon meaning 'multitude'. An original form of Abraham is the Hebrew Avraham. In the Bible, the patriarch Abram's name was changed to Abraham when he entered into a covenant with God that his descendants would possess the land of Canaan. The Bible explained the name Abraham as 'father of a multitude (of nations)'. Among Muslims, Ibrahim is regarded as the founder of the Arabs, and the name is often taken to be from 'abu' meaning 'father' and 'rahim' meaning 'kind'. The name Abraham was adopted by the 17th century Puritans, and it has been particularly popular among Jews. The name was also borne by various saints of the Eastern Roman Empire. Its current adoption is widely influenced by the 19th century US President Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War president who wrote the Gettysburg Address; he was also known by his nicknam 'Honest Abe'. Another short form of the name is well-known from Bram Stoker, who created Count Dracula. Abraham has 20 variations that are used in both English and foreign languages. Abram (used in Russian too) is a variation of the name that is used in English. Other English variants include the short forms Abe, Abran, Bram (used in Dutch and too), and Ham, and the pet forms Abi and Abie. Foreign variations of Abraham include the Finnish Aapo, the Irish Abracham, the Esperanto Abrahamo, the Portuguese Abrahan, the Italian Abramo, the Hebrew Avraham, the Hebrew Avram, the Yiddish Avrom, the Yiddish Avrum, the Albanian Brahim, the Arabic and Iranian Ebrahim, the Arabic and Indian Ibraheem, and the Arabic and Turkish Ibrahim. Abraham is popular as a baby name for boys, and it is also viewed as rather trendy. Its usage peaked modestly in 1911 with 0.121% of baby boys being given the name Abraham. It ranked at #124 then. The baby name has since experienced a decline in frequency. In 2007, it ranked at #192 with a usage of 0.096%, having regained some lost ground in the recent decade. Among all boy names in its group, Abraham was the most popular. 5 times more boys were named Abraham than the 2nd most popular name, the Russian and English Abram, in 2007. Baby names that sound like Abraham include the Hebrew Avraham, the Hebrew Avram, and the Yiddish Avrom. KEY: Pronunciation for Abraham: EY as in "ate (EY.T)" ; B as in "be (B.IY)" ; R as in "read (R.IY.D)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; HH as in "he (HH.IY)" ; AE as in "at (AE.T)" ; M as in "me (M.IY)"
Details of famous persons named Abraham:
Psychologist Abraham Maslow, born 1 April 1908 - 8 June 1970, Brooklyn, New York.
Religious Figure Abraham, born Abram.
U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, born 12 February 1809 - 15 April 1865, Near Hodgenville, Kentucky.
Writer Bram Stoker, born Abraham Stoker, 8 November 1847 - 20 April 1912, Clontarf, Ireland. |
