Abigail is a female given name. The name comes from the Hebrew name אֲבִיגַיִל / אֲבִיגָיִל Avigail, meaning "father rejoice" or "father's joy".
Abigail was the wife of King David in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Samuel), and is described as intelligent and beautiful, and considered one of the great female prophetesses of the Bible.
The name Abigail can be shortened to "Abby", "Abbey", "Abbi", "Abbie", "Abbe", "Abi", "Abbye", or "Aby", as well as "Gail" or "Gayle."
Uses among notable people:
- Abigail Adams née Smith (1744–1818), First Lady of the United States to President John Adams
- Abigail Breslin (born 1996), American child actress
- Abigail Clancy (born 1986), English model
- Abbie Cornish (born 1982), Australian actress
- Abigail Cruttenden (born 1969), English television actress
- Abigail Conceição de Souza (1921–2007), Brazilian footballer
- Abigail Fillmore née Powers (1798–1853), First Lady of the United States to President Millard Fillmore
- Abigail Folger (1943–1969), American heiress and murder victim
- Abi Griffiths (born 1978), English TV Presenter
- Abigail and Brittany Hensel (born 1990), American conjoined twins
- Abigail Campbell Kawānanakoa (1882–1945), Hawaiian princess
- Abigail Kapiolani Kawānanakoa (1903–1961), Hawaiian princess
- Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kawānanakoa (born 1926), Hawaiian princess
- Regina Abigail Mary Wahiikaahuula Kawananakoa born 1947, Hawaiian princess
- Abigail Maheha (1832–after 1846), Hawaiian princess
- Abigail Masham, Baroness Masham (c.1670–1734), British baroness
- Abigail (actress) aka Abigail Rogan (born 1946), Australian actress
- Abigail Adams Smith (1765–1813), first-born child of John Adams, President of the United States
- Abigail Spears (born 1981), American tennis player
- Abi Titmuss (born 1976), British actress
- Abigail Williams (1680–c.1697), a primary accuser in the Salem witch trials; portrayed in the Arthur Miller play The Crucible
Used as a pseudonym:
- Abigail Van Buren, pen name of Pauline Philips, pseudonymous author of the Dear Abby column
Uses among fictional characters:
- Mother Abagail, the personification of good in Stephen King's novel The Stand
- Abbey Bartlet, First Lady of the United States in American television series The West Wing
- Abby, 12-year-old vampire character in the 2010 film Let Me In.
- Abby Holland, DC Comics character
- Abby Lockhart, medical doctor in the American television series ER
- Abby Maitland, zoologist in the British television series Primeval
- Abby Sciuto, forensic scientist in the American television series NCIS
- Abigail Chase in National Treasure film franchise
- Abigail Deveraux, student in the American television soap opera Days of our Lives
- Abigail Stock, supporting character in the British television series Skins
- Abigail Williams (As the World Turns), character in the American soap opera As the World Turns
- Abigail Bird, supporting character in the 1976–2000 American comic strip Motley's Crew
- Abigail Dixon, a student in the Australian mockumentary Summer Heights High who dies after overdosing on ecstasy
- Abigail Stevenson, in the The Baby-sitters Club children's book series by Ann Martin
- Abigail Jane Stewart in Kristiana Gregory's The Winter of Red Snow: The Revolutionary War Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart
- Dark Priest Abigail, in the Bastard!! Japanese manga/anime series
- Abigail, a character in the Acts of Faith trilogy by T. Davis Bunn and Janette Oke, wife of Stephen (St. Stephen)
- Abigail Zenobia, a daughter of Valentine Michael Smith and Anne in the 1961 science fiction novel Stranger in a Strange Land
- Princess Abigail, the haughty daughter of King Midas on the T.V show, Once Upon A Time