Ab

Spellings & scripts●(measured from records)

Locally spelled Ãb in EG Egypt, MA Morocco, A'B in US United States and Âb in LY Libya.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records, and ○ marks a model's transliteration; click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●(measured from records)

Attested across 13 languages in the etymology graph.

Other names spelled this way◐(inferred from the name graph)

Ab is also recorded as 4 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• English given name26 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Canada, United States, Netherlands, Chad

  Languages: English, Dutch, German

  Also written Ãb, Äb, A'B, Àb, Âb

• a separate name6 spellings in the group

  Also written Āb, A-B, Äb, Àb, Ăb

• Chinese name3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Canada

  Also written A-B, Ãb

• Sinhala name2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Sri Lanka

  Also written A-B

62 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●(measured from records)

Ab is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In Akan, u b u- w, -o, 1. public inquiry after something. 2. wailing, crying, from grief, sorrow, fear, for help in consternation and distress; the noise made by the people whilst sheep are being offered to the river- spirit (at Akwam); - gbo ab. = oresu na oredi nkommo, he wails, laments; ab., wgmmo no kwa

  as a word·Dictionary of the Asante and Fante Language called Tshi (Chwee, Twi)

• In Akan, e s e b li r 0 w' (ap.), com grown in the said time ; maize plan- ted at the end of the harmattan, in March (before the rainy season has fully set in), the prosperous growth of which is doubtful, pr. 115

  as a word·Dictionary of the Asante and Fante Language called Tshi (Chwee, Twi)

• In Akan, 0 n 1 m' [ade a ebo anim] diadem; cf. abotiri. o-boniu, a barren, unfruitful woman or beast. o-boiikft, pi. a-, gutter, gully, furrow, channel, ravine formed by water; cf. obon, oka, osuka

  as a word·Dictionary of the Asante and Fante Language called Tshi (Chwee, Twi)

• In Akan, li r o b f a, a plant growing frequently in the vicinity of towns, with red flowers and black seeds; Cannalndicaov spcciosa,pr.661

  as a word·Dictionary of the Asante and Fante Language called Tshi (Chwee, Twi)

• In Akan, 0 to ku rd, pi, m-, a kind of momCy of a dark hue with light stripes, living in the wood; syn» odontwi

  as a word·Dictionary of the Asante and Fante Language called Tshi (Chwee, Twi)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Notable people with this name●(measured from records)

• Ab Salmb. 1801NLDutch painter. (1801–1876)
• Ab Wrightb. 1905USAmerican baseball player (1905-1995)
• Ab Treslingb. 1909NLfield hockey player (1909–1980)
• Ab DeMarcob. 1916CACanadian ice hockey player (1916–1989)
• Ab Kentieb. 1928NLDutch association football player (1928-1986)
• Ab McDonaldb. 1936CACanadian ice hockey player (1936–2018)
• Ab van Egmondb. 1938NLDutch cyclist
• Ab Fafiéb. 1941NLDutch footballer and manager (1941-2012)
• Ab Woldersb. 1951NLDutch strongman
• Ab Baarsb. 1955NLDutch tenor saxophonist and clarinetist

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●(measured from records)

Register rows as of the 2026-10-09 data build.

Frequently asked questions

What does the name Ab mean, and where does it come from?

Clipping of abdominal muscle . Recorded by kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations).

In which country does Ab have the most bearers?

Mondonomo estimates about 9.2 thousand people named Ab in Malaysia, more than in any other country we hold, where it is most often spelled ab.

How common is the name Ab?

In the United States, the national register counted 1,231 people named Ab in 2020, about 1 in 270 thousand residents.

How common is Ab compared with other names?

In Algeria, Ab is the 399th most common given name of 27,215 given names recorded there.