It would seem that some folks went to great length to find a first name that was from the Bible, but only occurred rarely. To have occurred only once among the thousands of names found among the pages would certainly be unusual in itself. Such is the name Abi.
A mother's name it is. Found in the book written about the kings of Israel and Judah [II Kings 18: 2] it is simply stated "His mother's name was Abi....". According to Strong's extensive work it is a Hebrew name meaning "father (source) of joy". Having three daughters myself, each are certainly a source of joy.
The name "Abi Jones" was recorded by Caroline Cummingham [Vol.I p.1] to have appeared in the 1790 Census, Currituck County, NC. Assuming it was used as a female first name, she would have been the head of household. The household is listed as "3 free persons other than white". This would suggest it was an African-American [most likely freed slaves] living together. Are there any other folks out there that might be able to shed light on this Abi Jones?
Source: Abingdon's Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of The Bible, Copyright 1890 by James Strong, Madison, NJ. It was copyrighted by Abingdon Press, 1980, and the "Forty-second Printing " [my copy] was published 1983.
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