Abigail / Abigayle

Meaning: (Father in Rejoicing, Father Rejoice, Father’s Joy, Father of Exaltation, My Father had made Himself Joyful, Biblical: the name of King David’s third wife, described as “good in discretion and beautiful in form”. She referred to herself as David’s “handmaid”, and her name became widely used as a term for a lady’s maid. The name first came into use in Britain in the 16^th Century, under Puritan influence. Abigail was also commonly used as a name for ladies maids in Literature, for instances in Beaumont and Fletcher’s play “The Scornful Ladie” (1616). This use is congruent with the Biblical Abigail, who described herself to David in the Bible as ‘Thy Servant’. As a result, the name was also used as a slang term for a servant during the 18^th century and therefore lost some of its popularity. Its decline was also due to Abigail Masham (1680-1734), the unpopular lady-in-waiting to Queen Anne. In literature, notable bearers include the ill fated daughter of Barabas in “The Jew of Malta” (1589-1590) and the manipulative Abigail Williams in Arthur Millers play “The Crucible” (1950’s). The name is also taken as the Anglicized form of Gobnait in Ireland.  Abbie, Abbey, and Abby are pet forms. Abegail is the Spanish from.)

Origin:  (Hebrew, Biblical)

Pronunciation: (AB-ih-gayl, AEBihGeyl (English), AABiyGayl (German))

Gender: Female

This is a nice name with lovely meanings. I have a friend now whose name is Abigail “Abby”. It has a really nice long history as well. This is a name I have heard a bit more about of late. But I was reluctant to add it for a while because of my bad history with a girl I knew in Elementary and Junior High schools whose name is Abigail. That particular Abigail *Not my current Friend Abigail* was a bully and her and her friends tormented me. They were mean little girls. So names like Abigail, Laura, Pam, Brittany, Samantha, and Liz / Lizzie all used to make me think of those girls. Of course I am an adult now who is soon to be 26 years old so I have moved past that and will not hold a grudge against those girls or their names. I have known very sweet and nice girls and women since then named the exact names listed above so I like to think of them now when I see these names.

So there is a bit of my bully filled past. I do hope those girls grew up to become better adults then they were children. Sometimes bullies live, learn and grow whereas others remain lifetime bullies. I don’t really care to find out which they became, Better Adults or Adult Bullies. Though I hope it was the former.

I want to note for any who were bullied or are still being bullied that life goes on and you grow up. Once out of school you probably never will see those kids again. Also there is no real reason to see them again if you don’t want to. Don’t let the bullies force you to self harm or think it will never get better. Blow them off and plan for the future, because it’s as BRIGHT as you want it to be. Reach for the STARS, and leave everything bad in the past, but bring the good along with you.

This quote could help, Substitute: Enemies for Bullies within the quote: Always forgive your enemies - nothing annoys them so much. - Oscar Wilde

Another good one: "If we could read the secret history of our enemies we should find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility." – H. Longfellow

We don’t know the bullies own mental illnesses or home life. They may be miserable and wish to make others miserable. As the saying goes, Misery Loves Company. So forgive and forget as hard as it may be and move on and forward.