MEANING & HISTORY
What does Abraham mean?
Abraham continues Hebrew Avraham. Genesis explains the change from Abram to Abraham through the idea father of a multitude.
Onomastic accounts discuss this as father of many or as a formation connecting Abram with a word for multitude. The biblical interpretation is specific and important, but it is different from demonstrating every stage of the name’s earliest linguistic development. Abraham is therefore presented with that traditional interpretation explicitly identified.
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
Tagalog
- /ʔabɾaˈham/Standard-Tagalog
- [ʔɐ.bɾɐˈham]Standard-Tagalog
A · bra · ham3 source divisions
Dictionary reading & contributors ↗English
- /ˈeɪ.bɹə.hæm/Received-Pronunciation
- /ˈeɪ.bɹə.həm/Received-Pronunciation
- /ˈeɪ.bɹəˌhæm/US
- /ˈeɪ.bɹə.həm/US
- /ˈeɪ.bɹæm/poetic
A · bra · ham3 source divisions
Dictionary reading & contributors ↗Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
TagalogEtymology & source
Borrowed from Spanish Abraham with the silent /h/ pronounced, ultimately from Hebrew אַבְרָהָם ('aḇrāhām, “Abraham”). Doublet of Ibrahim.
a male given name, equivalent to English Abraham
Wiktionary: Abraham (Tagalog) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
CebuanoEtymology & source
From English Abraham and Spanish Abraham, from Late Latin Ābraham, from Ancient Greek Ἀβραάμ (Abraám), from Hebrew אַבְרָהָם (avrahám, “Abraham”).
a male given name from English or Spanish
Wiktionary: Abraham (Cebuano) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
EnglishEtymology & source
From Middle English Abraham, from Old English Abraham, from Late Latin Ābrahām, from Ancient Greek Ἀβρᾱᾱ́μ (Abrāā́m), from Hebrew אַבְרָהָם ('aḇrāhām, “Abraham”). Thomas L. Thompson suggests that the meaning of the name in Genesis was forgotten due to its age and that its original meaning was "Father is exalted." Glossed as אַב (aḇ, “father of”) + הֲמוֹן (hăˈmōn, “multitude of”) in Genesis 17:4–5; or from Hebrew אַבְרָם ('aḇrām, “Abram”). Doublet of Ibrahim, Avraham, Abramo, and Abrahan.
A male given name from Hebrew.
Wiktionary: Abraham (English) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
SpanishEtymology & source
Inherited from Latin Abraham, from Ancient Greek Ἀβρᾱᾱ́μ (Abrāā́m), from Biblical Hebrew אַבְרָהָם (ʔaḇrɔhɔm).
a male given name from Hebrew, of rare usage, equivalent to English Abraham
Wiktionary: Abraham (Spanish) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
People with the name Abraham
Public figures and other documented namesakes linked by an explicit given-name claim. This is a selection of records, not a popularity ranking.
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Abraham Tolentino
Filipino politician
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Abraham Sarmiento
Filipino judge (1921–2010)
The record establishes the name association, not the person’s intended meaning, pronunciation or ancestry. Descriptions are attributed to Wikidata contributors (CC0).
Use in Philippine-linked records
Public-record transcription
12
eligible source records · 2001
This spelling is reported in an openly licensed transcription of elected-candidate records. This is a record count, not a birth count or national popularity measure.
OpenHalalan / COMELEC ↗Wikidata
5
distinct person records with an explicit given-name claim
Community-edited coverage, not a census or birth registry. Examples: Abraham Sarmiento, Abraham Tolentino
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Abraham in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Related forms & spellings
Related forms may have their own language histories. They are not included in this spelling’s PSA count.
Similar names to Abraham
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Abbas♂One who frowns; a figurative lion-name
- Abdurahman·Servant of the Merciful
- Abubakar·Abu Bakr form: father of Bakr
- Hamham♂Repeated familiar form of Abraham
- Abby♀Familiar form of Abigail
- Abdel·Arabic Abd al: servant of the, in compound names
- Abdon·Servant or one who serves
- Abdul♂Arabic name element meaning servant of the…
What rhymes with Abraham?
Matches share a dictionary-supplied rhyme key in the stated language. Check the recorded reading; another language or accent can change the rhyme.
Names with a similar written ending
Spelling suggestions; these are not verified phonetic rhymes.
Recorded combinations with Abraham
2 source-reported compound forms include this name as a component. Each part keeps its own history.
Names in this collection
- Abraham Kahlil·Abraham with the literary spelling Kahlil
- Jose Abraham·Jose: May he add; Abraham: Father-of-many biblical formation
Explore Abraham further
Follow the sources
- OpenHalalan — pinned 2001 COMELEC transcription (opens in a new tab)
Source-reported given-name form in a row with a separate explicit middle initial; ODbL-1.0.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- Wikidata given-name item Q17997608 — Abraham (opens in a new tab)
Given-name identity, native labels, language associations and explicit class where present; not lexical meaning or population frequency.
- Wikidata — Abraham Sarmiento (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q17997608 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wikidata — Abraham Tolentino (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q17997608 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wiktionary contributors — Abraham (Tagalog) (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name sense and separately attributed etymology; no birth-frequency claim.
- Wiktionary contributors — Abraham (Cebuano) (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name sense and separately attributed etymology; no birth-frequency claim.
- Wiktionary contributors — Abraham (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Wiktionary contributors — Abraham (Spanish) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Behind the Name — Abraham (opens in a new tab)
Consulted account of the name’s formation, relevant root elements, or explicitly linked base name.