Abel
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Hebrew. From Middle English Abel, from Old English Ābel, from Latin Abel, from Ancient Greek Ἅβελ (Hábel), from Biblical Hebrew הֶבֶל (Héḇel, “Abel”), possibly from the homonymous word הֶבֶל (heḇel, “breath, vapor; vanity”) or from Akkadian 𒌉𒍑 (ablu, “son”).
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Abel (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Abel has been rising over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2020. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | 10 |
| 2005 | 5 |
| 2006 | 6 |
| 2007 | 5 |
| 2008 | – |
| 2009 | – |
| 2010 | 3 |
| 2011 | 5 |
| 2012 | 11 |
| 2013 | 6 |
| 2014 | 10 |
| 2015 | 6 |
| 2016 | 14 |
| 2017 | 7 |
| 2018 | 5 |
| 2019 | 12 |
| 2020 | 15 |
| 2021 | 13 |
| 2022 | 11 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 140 |
| 2000 | 143 |
| 2001 | 145 |
| 2002 | 152 |
| 2003 | 153 |
| 2004 | 166 |
| 2005 | 169 |
| 2006 | 179 |
| 2007 | 194 |
| 2008 | 208 |
| 2009 | 218 |
| 2010 | 233 |
| 2011 | 252 |
| 2012 | 272 |
| 2013 | 292 |
| 2014 | 322 |
| 2015 | 368 |
| 2016 | 423 |
| 2017 | 445 |
| 2018 | 482 |
| 2019 | 521 |
| 2020 | 541 |
Abel in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Abel.Hi! My name is Abel.
- Abel bor i Umeå och jobbar som snickare.Abel lives in Umeå and works as a carpenter.
- Jag ska fika med Abel i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Abel this afternoon.
- Abels mamma är lärare.Abel's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Abels mamma is Abel's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Abel
How do you pronounce Abel in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Abel in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Abel mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Hebrew. From Middle English Abel, from Old English Ābel, from Latin Abel, from Ancient Greek Ἅβελ (Hábel), from Biblical Hebrew הֶבֶל (Héḇel, “Abel”), possibly from the homonymous word הֶבֶל (heḇel, “breath, vapor; vanity”) or from Akkadian 𒌉𒍑 (ablu, “son”).
How popular is Abel in Sweden?
11 babies were named Abel in 2022. In 2020, 541 people in Sweden had Abel as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been rising lately and peaked in 2020 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.