Abner is a given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It is the name of Abner (Hebrew: אַבְנֵר ʾAḇnēr, "father of lamp/light")[1] from the Bible (Book of Samuel), first cousin to King Saul and commander-in-chief of his army. In the United States, it was moderately popular as a given name, but declined in the first half of the 20th century, rarely being used for newborns after the 1930s. Other notable people with the name include: