Abraham (surname)


Abraham is a surname. It can be of Jewish, English, French, German, Dutch, Irish, Welsh, Cornish, Breton, and other origins. It is derived from the Hebrew personal name Avraham, borne by the biblical patriarch Abraham, revered by Jews as a founding father of the Jewish people, and by Muslims as founder of all Semitic peoples. The name is explained in Genesis 17:5 as being derived from the Hebrew av hamon goyim "father of a multitude of nations". It was commonly used as a given name among Christians in the Middle Ages, and has always been a popular Jewish given name. The English name Abram is often a short form of Abraham, but it can also be a shortened version of Adburgham, which comes from a place name. As an Irish name, it was adopted as an approximation of the Gaelic name Mac an Bhreitheamhan "son of the judge". The German name Brahm is often a short form of Abraham, but it can also be a topographic name signifying someone who lived near a bramble thicket. The name Braham has been used as an Anglicization of both Abraham and its patronymic Abrahams by Ashkenazi Jews in the British Isles. Abraham has also been used as an Anglicization of the equivalent Arabic surname Ibrāhīm.

List of people with the surname

Notable people with the surname include: