Abel is a

biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

first name First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared an ...

which may derive from the

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

, itself derived from (''breath'' or ''vapour''), or from the Assyrian for ''son''.Superanskaya, p. 20 In reference to the biblical story, Abel is usually linked with his brother who killed him, as in

Cain and Abel In the biblical Book of Genesis, Cain and Abel are the first two sons of Adam and Eve. Cain, the firstborn, was a farmer, and his brother Abel was a shepherd. The brothers made sacrifices, each from his own fields, to God. God had regard for Ab ...

. Based on its occurrence in the Bible, the name Abel has been used in many European languages; in Sweden it is attested since 1496, and in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

it was mostly used by the

Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

in the 17th century. The variants used in the

Russian language Russian is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language belonging to the Balto-Slavic languages, Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. It is one of the four extant East Slavic languages, and is ...

are (''Abel'') and (''

Avel Avel is a male given name, first name. Other definition of Avel is HİLAL Russian first name In the Russian language, "" (''Avel'') is a form of the first name Abel (given name), Abel used in Bible, biblical contexts.Superanskaya, p. 20 It ...

''). in Finnish it is spelled ''Aapeli''.

People

:''Note: Persons may be listed in more than one subsection.''

Arts and entertainment

Abel Fernandez Abel Gonzalez Fernandez (July 14, 1930 – May 3, 2016) was an American actor who played in movies from 1953 to 2002. He was best known for his role as Federal Agent William "Bill" Youngfellow on the 1959–1963 ABC Television series ''The Unto ...

(1930–2016), American actor *

Abel Ferrara Abel Ferrara (; born July 19, 1951) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for the provocative and often controversial content in his movies and his use and redefinition of neo-noir imagery. A long-time independent filmmaker, some of his best ...

(born 1951), American film director *

Abel Gance Abel Gance (; born Abel Eugène Alexandre Péréthon; 25 October 188910 November 1981) was a French film director, producer, writer and actor. A pioneer in the theory and practice of montage, he is best known for three major silent films: ''J'ac ...

(1889–1981), French film director, producer, writer and actor *

Abel Góngora Abel Góngora (born July 30, 1983) is a Spanish animator and director based in Japan who is known for his work with the Japanese animation studio Science SARU. Having joined the studio as one of its first employees, Góngora serves as the head of ...

(born 1983), Spanish animator and director *

Abel Korzeniowski Abel Korzeniowski (; born 18 July 1972) is a Polish composer of film and theatre scores. Life and career Korzeniowski was born in Kraków. He had contact with music from early childhood: his mother Barbara plays the cello and both his brothers ...

(born 1972), Polish film score composer *

Abel Pintos Abel Federico Pintos (born May 11, 1984) is an Argentine singer-songwriter. He started his solo career at the age of 13 with his album ''Para cantar he nacido'' (I Was Born To Sing), supported financially by León Gieco. After the release of fou ...

(born 1984), Argentinian singer-songwriter *

Abel Salazar (actor) Abel Salazar García (24 September 1917 – 21 October 1995) was a Mexican actor, producer and director. He appeared in 70 films between 1941 and 1989. He was a son of ''Don'' García and his wife, and brother to ''Don'' Alfredo Salazar. P ...

(1917–1995), Mexican actor, director and producer * Abel Salazar (scientist) (1889–1946), Portuguese physician and painter *

Abel Seyler Abel Seyler (23 August 1730, Liestal – 25 April 1800, Rellingen) was a Swiss-born theatre director and former merchant banker, who was regarded as one of the great theatre principals of 18th century Europe. He played a pivotal role in the dev ...

(1730–1801), Swiss banker and theatre director and patron *

Abel Talamantez Abel ( ''Hébel'', in pausa ''Hā́ḇel''; ''Hábel''; , ''Hābēl'') is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within the Abrahamic religions. Born as the second son of Adam and Eve, the first two humans created by God, he was a shepherd w ...

(born 1978), Mexican-American singer * Abel Tesfaye (born 1990), Canadian musician better known as

The Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (; born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is best known for adding Pop music, pop, electronic music, electronic and hip-hop stylings ...

Nobility

Abel, King of Denmark Abel Valdemarsen (c. 1218 – 29 June 1252) was Duke of Schleswig from 1232 to 1252 and King of Denmark from 1250 until his death in 1252. He was the son of Valdemar II by his second wife, Berengaria of Portugal, and brother to kings Eric IV and ...

(1218–1252) * Abel, Lord of Langeland (1252–1279)

Politics

* Abel Darlington (1810–1897), American politician from Pennsylvania *

Abel Goumba Abel Nguéndé Goumba (; 18 September 1926 – 11 May 2009) was a Central African politician. During the late 1950s, he headed the government in the period prior to independence from France, and following independence he was an unsuccessful ...

(1926–2009), Central African Republic politician *

Abel Maldonado Abel O. Maldonado Jr. (born August 21, 1967) is an American politician who served as the 48th lieutenant governor of California from April 27, 2010 to January 3, 2011. As of 2025, he is the last Republican to serve as California's Lieutenant Gove ...

(born 1967), American politician * Abel Millington (1787–1838), American politician *

Abel Muzorewa Abel Tendekayi Muzorewa (14 April 1925 – 8 April 2010), also commonly referred to as Bishop Muzorewa, was a Zimbabwean bishop and politician who served as the first and only Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Rhodesia from the Internal Settlement t ...

(1925–2010), Rhodesian/Zimbabwean politician and bishop *

Abel Pacheco Abel Pacheco de la Espriella ( ; born 22 December 1933) is a Costa Rican politician who was president of Costa Rica between 2002 and 2006, representing the Social Christian Unity Party ''(Partido Unidad Social Cristiana'' – PUSC). He ran on ...

(born 1933), former president of Costa Rica *

Abel Santamaría Abel Santamaría Cuadrado (20 October 1927 – 26 July 1953) was a Cuban revolutionary and leader in the Cuban Revolutionary movement. He and his sister Haydée Santamaría participated in the failed attack on the Moncada Barracks led by Fidel ...

(1927–1953), Cuban political activist * Abel Tapia (born 1949), American senator of the Colorado General Assembly *

Abel Upshur Abel Parker Upshur (June 17, 1790 – February 28, 1844) was an American lawyer, planter, judge, and politician from the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Active in Virginia state politics for decades, with a brother and a nephew who became distinguis ...

, U.S. Secretary of State * Abel Xavier Nzuzi Lubota, Angolan politician

Religion

* Saint Abel (Syrian), a saint of the Syrian church *

Abel of Reims Abel (fl. 744–747) served as the Bishop of Reims in Francia, now modern-day France.Costambeys, "Abel (''fl''. 744–747)" He has sometimes been venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, particularly by the Bollandists. Origins In the late ...

(), saint, archbishop of Reims and abbot of Lobbes * Abel of Tacla Haimonot, a monk and saint of the Coptic Orthodox Church *

(1925–2010), Rhodesian/Zimbabwean bishop and politician

Sports

Abel Aguilar Abel Enrique Aguilar Tapias (born 6 January 1985) is a Colombian former footballer who played as a central defender, central or defensive midfielder. Having started his career at Deportivo Cali, Aguilar signed with Italian club Udinese at the ...

(born 1985), Colombian footballer *

Abel Antón Abel Antón Rodrigo (born 24 October 1962 in Ojuel, Cabrejas del Campo, Soria) is a Spanish former long-distance runner on the track and road. Anton won back-to-back world championships in the marathon in 1997 and 1999. He was a sena ...

(born 1962), Spanish long-distance runner *

Abel Balbo Abel Eduardo Balbo (; born 1 June 1966) is an Argentine football manager and former player who played as a striker. Balbo played for various clubs in Argentina and Italy during the course of his career. He was also an Argentine international. ...

(born 1966), Argentine footballer *

Abel Braga Abel Carlos da Silva Braga (born 1 September 1952), known as Abel Braga, is a Brazilian former football coach and player. He played as a central defender during a professional career that started with Fluminense in 1968. He earned one cap f ...

(born 1952), Brazilian association football manager * Abel Buades (born 1977), Spanish footballer *

Abel Camará Abel Issa Camará (born 6 January 1990) is a Bissau-Guinean former professional footballer who plays as a forward. Club career Born in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, Camará finished his football grooming with Belenenses in Portugal. He made his seni ...

(born 1990), Bissau-Guinean footballer * Abel Caputo (born 2000), Venezuelan footballer * Abel Casquete (born 1997), Ecuadorian footballer *

Abel Chimukoko Abel Chimukoko (born September 29, 1972 in Mutoko, Mashonaland East) is a Zimbabwean long-distance runner. He competed for his native country at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List ...

(born 1972), Zimbabwean long-distance runner * Abel Conejo (born 1998), Spanish footballer * Abel De Los Santos (born 1992), Dominican baseball player *

Abel Ferreira Abel Fernando Moreira Ferreira (born 22 December 1978), known simply as Abel as a player, is a Portuguese football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Brazilian club Palmeiras. As a right-back, he played 234 Primeira Li ...

(born 1978), Portuguese footballer * Abel Gebor (born 1990), Liberian footballer *

Abel Gigli Abel Gigli Mohamed (; born 16 August 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Italian Serie D club Ravenna and the Somalia national team. Born in Italy, he plays for the Somalia national team. Club career Parma Gigli ma ...

(born 1990), Italian footballer * Abel Hammond (born 1985), Ghanaian footballer *

Abel Hernández Abel Mathías Hernández Platero (born 8 August 1990) is a Uruguayan professional association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Uruguayan Primera División club Liverpool F.C. (Montevideo), Liverpo ...

(born 1990), Uruguayan footballer * Abel Khaled (born 1992), French-Algerian footballer *

Abel Kirui Abel Kirui (born 6 April 1982) is a long-distance runner from Kenya who competes in marathons. He had back-to-back wins in the World Championship marathon in 2009 and 2011. Kirui won in 2009 with a time of 2:06:54, then defended his title with a ...

(born 1982), Kenyan long-distance runner *

Abel Laudonio Abel Ricardo Laudonio (30 August 1938 – 12 August 2014) was an Argentine lightweight boxer. As an amateur he competed in the 1956 and 1960 Olympics and won a bronze medal in the lightweight division in 1960. In 1961, he turned professional and ...

(1938–2014), Argentinian boxer * Abel Lizotte (1870–1926), American baseball player *

Abel Lobatón Abel Lobaton (born 23 November 1977 in Peru) is a Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, i ...

(born 1977), Peruvian footballer * Abel Mabaso (born 1991), South African footballer * Abel Mamo (born 1994), Ethiopian footballer * Abel Masuero (born 1988), Argentine footballer * Abel Mendoza (born 2003), American footballer *

Abel Miglietti Abel Fernando Miglietti (born 4 March 1946 in Maputo) is a former Portuguese footballer who played as forward. He is the younger brother of Zeca. International career Abel gained 4 caps for Portugal Portugal, officially the Portu ...

(born 1946), Portuguese footballer *

Abel Molinero Abel Molinero Pons (born 28 April 1989) is a Spanish footballer who plays for Marchamalo as a left winger. Club career Born in Madrid, Molinero started playing as a senior with local Atlético Madrid's C-team, going on to appear sparingly for ...

(born 1989), Spanish footballer *

Abel Moreno Abel Moreno Zorrero (born 19 February 1995) is a Spanish footballer who plays for CD Gerena as a left back. Club career Born in Almensilla, Seville, Andalusia, Moreno finished his formation with Sevilla FC, and made his debuts as a senior with ...

(born 1995), Spanish footballer *

Abel Gómez Moreno Abel ( ''Hébel'', in pausa ''Hā́ḇel''; ''Hábel''; , ''Hābēl'') is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within the Abrahamic religions. Born as the second son of Adam and Eve, the first two humans created by God, he was a shepherd w ...

(born 1982), Spanish footballer *

Abel Mutai Abel Kiprop Mutai (born 2 October 1988) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specializes in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He was born in Nandi. He won the gold medal at the 2005 World Youth Championships, a bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympi ...

(born 1988), Kenyan long-distance runner * Abel Peralta (born 1989), Argentine footballer * Abel Redenut (born 1995), Papua New Guinean footballer *

Abel Resino Abel Resino Gómez (born 2 February 1960), sometimes known just as Abel, is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and a manager. Nicknamed ''El Gato'' (The Cat) due to his reflexes,

(born 1960), Spanish association football manager and former goalkeeper * Abel Rodrigues (1922–2010), American basketball player *

Abel Ruiz Abel Ruiz Ortega (; born 28 January 2000) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club Girona and the Spain national team. Formed at Barcelona, where he made one first-team appearance, he moved to Braga in Janu ...

(born 2000), Spanish footballer * Abel Segovia (born 1979), Spanish footballer *

Abel Silva Abel Jorge Pereira da Silva (born 21 August 1969), sometimes known as just Abel, is a Portuguese former footballer. One of the players who scored (both editions combined) goals in Portugal's two consecutive U-20 World Cup triumphs, the right ...

(born 1969), Portuguese footballer and coach * Abel Stensrud (born 2002), Norwegian footballer *

Abel Miguel Suárez Abel ( ''Hébel'', in pausa ''Hā́ḇel''; ''Hábel''; , ''Hābēl'') is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within the Abrahamic religions. Born as the second son of Adam and Eve, the first two humans created by God, he was a shepherd w ...

(born 1991), Spanish footballer * Abel Tamata (born 1990), Dutch footballer *

Abel Tasman Abel Janszoon Tasman (; 160310 October 1659) was a Dutch sea explorer, seafarer and exploration, explorer, best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He was the first European to reach New ...

(born 2014), American racehorse * Abel Thermeus (born 1983), Haitian footballer *

Abel Trujillo Abel Nazario Trujillo (born September 18, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist. He last competed in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Born in Greensboro, North Carolina, Trujillo attended Rive ...

(born 1983), American mixed martial artist * Abel Valdez (born 1987), Argentine footballer *

Abel Xavier Abel Luís da Silva Costa Xavier (; born 30 November 1972) is a Portuguese football manager and former professional footballer who played as a right-back. Xavier played for clubs in Portugal, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, England, Turkey and G ...

(born 1972), Portuguese former footballer * Abel Yalew (born 1996), Ethiopian footballer

Other

* Abel Briones Ruiz (born 1973), Mexican businessman and suspected drug lord *

Abel Payne Caldwell Abel Payne Caldwell (1865–1917) was an American journalist, editor, and newspaper business manager. He lived in Philadelphia. Early life and family Abel Payne Caldwell was born on January 1, 1865, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to enslaved ...

(1865–1917), American journalist, newspaper publisher, and editor *

Abel Douay Charles Abel Douay (2 March 1809 – 4 August 1870) was a general in the French army during the reign of the Emperor Napoleon III. He commanded troops in numerous French campaigns in Europe and overseas. He was killed in battle at the age of sixty- ...

(1809–1870), French general *

Abel Lefranc Maurice Jules Abel Lefranc (27 July 1863 – 26 November 1952) was a historian of French literature, expert on Rabelais, and the principal advocate of the Derbyite theory of Shakespeare authorship. Early life Lefranc was born in Élincourt-S ...

(1863–1952), French literary historian * Abel Makashvili (1860–1920), Georgian prince and soldier *

Abel Niépce de Saint-Victor Claude Félix Abel Niépce de Saint-Victor (26 July 1805, Saint-Cyr, Saône-et-Loire – 7 April 1870, Paris) was a French photographic inventor. Claude was an army lieutenant and the cousin of Nicéphore Niépce. He first experimented in 1847 wit ...

(1805–1870), French photographic inventor *

Abel Pavet de Courteille Abel Jean Baptiste Michel Pavet de Courteille (23 June 1821 – 12 December 1889) was a 19th-century French orientalist, who specialized in the study of Turkic languages. Career Through his mother, Sophie Silvestre (1793-1877), he was Antoin ...

(1821–1889), French linguist * Abel Salazar (scientist) (1889–1946), Portuguese physician and painter *

Abel Stearns Abel Stearns (February 9, 1798 – August 23, 1871) was an American trader who came to the Pueblo de Los Angeles, Alta California in 1829 and became a major landowner and cattle rancher and one of the area's wealthiest citizens. Early life Stea ...

(1798–1871), trader and great landowner in California *

(1603–1659), Dutch seafarer, explorer and merchant *

Abel Wolman Abel Wolman (June 10, 1892 – February 22, 1989) was an American engineer, educator and pioneer of modern sanitary engineering. His professional career left impacts in academia, sanitary engineering research, environmental and public health servi ...

(1892–1989), American inventor, scientist, professor and pioneer of modern sanitary engineering

Fictional characters

Abel Magwitch Abel Magwitch is a major fictional character from Charles Dickens' 1861 novel ''Great Expectations''. Synopsis Charles Dickens set his story in the early 19th century, setting his character Abel Magwitch to meet a man called Compeyson at the Epso ...

, a leading character in the novel ''Great Expectatations'' by Charles Dickens * Abel Rosnovoski, lead character in the novel '' Kane and Abel'', by Jeffrey Archer * Abel, protagonist in W.H. Hudson's novel ''

Green Mansions ''Green Mansions: A Romance of the Tropical Forest'' is a 1904 exotic romance by William Henry Hudson about a traveller to the Guyana jungle of southeastern Venezuela and his encounter with a forest-dwelling girl named Rima. The principal ...

'' *

Abel Nightroad This is a list of the major characters featured in ''Trinity Blood;'' a series of twelve Japanese Light novel, light novels written by Sunao Yoshida, that has been adapted into both manga and anime series. The characters here have been grouped b ...

, in the anime ''Trinity Blood'' *

Abel (DC Comics) Cain and Abel are a pair of characters from DC Comics based on the biblical Cain and Abel. They are key figures in DC's "Mystery" line of the late 1960s and 1970s, which became the mature-readers imprint Vertigo (DC Comics), Vertigo in 1993. Cain ...

, a host of horror comic anthologies *

Abel Abel ( ''Hébel'', in pausa ''Hā́ḇel''; ''Hábel''; , ''Hābēl'') is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within the Abrahamic religions. Born as the second son of Adam and Eve, the first two humans created by God in Judaism, God, he ...

, Mabel's brother in the 1976–2000 comic strip ''Motley's Crew'' * Abel Teller, the son of

Jax Teller Jackson Nathaniel Jax Teller is a fictional character and the protagonist of the FX television series ''Sons of Anarchy'', portrayed by Charlie Hunnam. A member of the titular outlaw motorcycle club, he spends the series as the Vice President and ...

in the FX series ''

Sons of Anarchy ''Sons of Anarchy'' is an American Action film, action crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter for FX (TV channel), FX. Originally aired from September 3, 2008, to December 9, 2014, ''Sons of Anarchy'' follows the lives of a close-k ...

'' * Abel, lead character in King of Demons games *

, in the ''Battle Arena Toshinden'' video game series * Abel, in the video game ''

Street Fighter IV is a 2008 fighting game developed by Capcom and Dimps and published by Capcom. It was the first original main entry in the series since '' Street Fighter III'' in 1997, a hiatus of eleven years. Designed for the Taito Type X2 arcade hardware, ...

'' * Abel, in the video game '' The Walking Dead: The Final Season'' * Abel, a playable character in the video game series ''

Fire Emblem is a Video games in Japan, Japanese fantasy tactical role-playing game franchise developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. First produced and published for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990, the series currently con ...

'' * Abel the Bard, the false identity assumed by Mance Rayder in the book series

A Song of Ice and Fire ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' is a series of high fantasy novels by the American author George R. R. Martin. Martin began writing the first volume, ''A Game of Thrones'', in 1991, and published it in 1996. Martin, who originally envisioned the ser ...

, by

George R. R. Martin George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948) also known by the initials G.R.R.M. is an American author, television writer, and television producer. He is best known as the author of the unfinished series of Hi ...

References

Notes

Sources

* А. В. Суперанская (A. V. Superanskaya). "Современный словарь личных имён: Сравнение. Происхождение. Написание" (''Modern Dictionary of First Names: Comparison. Origins. Spelling''). Айрис-пресс. Москва, 2005. {{Given name French masculine given names Masculine given names Spanish masculine given names Hebrew masculine given names English masculine given names