Origin: Biblical Hebrew
Meaning: bestowed by God; gift of God
Gender: Masculine
(ZAB-dee-el)
The name is composed of the Hebrew elements, zeved זבד (gift, bestowal) and el אל (elohim; God).
The name is borne in the Old Testament by 2 very minor characters.
- In (1 Chronicles 27:2) Zabdiel is mentioned as the father of Jeshobeam and one of the 12 commanders of the subdivisions in Israel.
- In (Nehemiah 11:14), Zabdiel is the son of Heggedolim.
In the English-speaking world, the name came into sporadic use in the 16th-century, around the time of the Protestant Reformation. Notable bearers include early American physician Zabdiel Boylston 1679-1766 (who is noted as the first person to perform a surgical operation in the U.S.), and Massachusetts representative, Zabdiel Sampson (1781-1828).
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