Given name & surname
Abu
“a father”
Abu is used as a given name and a surname. One African interpretation is “a father.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One African interpretation is “a father.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is African.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1971. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Abu through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 468
- 468 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2007
- 17 babies
- 2025
- 16
- #5,610 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +6%
- Steady
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 16 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 5,610 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 6.1% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 17 in 2007. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,416 as a first name in 2020; 1,062 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Abu’s family of names
Abu has a related form in Abou. Abu has a related form in Aboo. Abu has a related form in Abue.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Abu
- Abu Ja'far al-KhazinPersian astronomer and mathematician900–971
- Al-NayriziPersian mathematician and astronomer865–922
- Kushyar ibn LabbanPersian mathematician, geographer, and astronomer (971–1029)
- Killing of Abu SayedBangladeshi activist (born 1999)
- Abu TalibAmerican guitarist; born Fred Leroy Robinson (1939–2009)
- Abu DanladiGhanaian footballerborn 1995
- Abu OgogoEnglish association football player (born 1989)
- Abu Usamahreligious leaderborn 1964
- Salim Abu MayanjaUgandan middle-distance runnerborn 1995
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Abu, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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