Abigail

In the First Book of Samuel, a woman rides out alone on a donkey to intercept a furious David and talk him out of slaughter — her name is Abigail, Hebrew for "my father's joy." The biblical Abigail is one of scripture's great diplomats, all intelligence and grace under pressure. The name later crossed into Puritan English, then onto the American frontier (an Adams first lady among them), and now holds rank 32 in the United States. Three bright syllables with a lift at the end. Nickname-rich — Abby, Abbie, Gail — but the full form has the solid feel of something ancient.