Abigail is from the Hebrew *Avigayil* ("my father's joy"). **The biblical Abigail — wife of the churlish Nabal of Carmel and, after his death, of King David** (1 Samuel 25); her intercession with David is among the most diplomatic moments in the Hebrew Bible. **Abigail Adams (1744-1818)** — wife of John Adams (2nd US President), mother of John Quincy Adams (6th US President), and **the most prolific letter-writer of the American Revolution**. **Her March 1776 "Remember the Ladies" letter to John urging him to grant women legal status in the new republic stands as a founding document of American feminism**. **A top-10 US baby name from 2001 to 2017, peaking at #6 in 2005**.
Subject of Edith Gelles's *Abigail Adams: A Writing Life* (2002).
Abigail reduces to eight — the number of Adams matriarch.