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Gender
Masculine
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Origin of the Name Abel
Akkadian or Hebrew
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Usage of the Name Abel
English, French, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Biblical
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Meaning of the Name Abel
The name Abel comes from the Hebrew name Hevel, which could be derived from the Assyrian (Akkadian) word "aplu" meaning "son", or from the Hebrew word "hevel" meaning "breath, vapour", referring to the fleeting nature of human life.
In the Old Testament Abel was the shepherd son of Adam and Eve, born after they left the Garden of Eden, and Cain was his older brother, a farmer and the first person ever to be born.
After God rejected Cain's offering of fruits and vegetables but accepted Abel's animal sacrifice, Cain committed the first murder and killed his brother, who became the first person ever to die. Abel is considered a pre-Christian martyr. As an English name Abel came into use in the Middle Ages and was quite popular among the Puritans.
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Interesting Facts about Abel
- Abel is the name given to the sole specimen of an Australopithecus species found in 1995 in Chad.
- There is also a lunar crater named Abel after Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel (1802 - 1829).
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Famous Bearers
Bearers of the name include Abel Tasman (1603 - 1659), a Dutch explorer and merchant and namesake for present-day Tasmania;
Abel Gance (1889 - 1981), a French film director, producer, and actor;
Abel Carlevaro (1916 - 2001), an Uruguayan guitarist and composer;
Abel Ferrara (born 1951), an American screenwriter and film director;
Abel Antón (born 1962), a Spanish runner;
Abel Kirui (born 1982), a Kenyan runner.
Abel Magwitch is also a pivotal character in Charles Dickens' 1861 novel Great Expectations.
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Names Related to Abel
List of names related to Abel.
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