Meaning: Its source is a Hebrew expression meaning "Emigrant."

Languages: This girl's name is used in Hebrew and English.

Alternative Spellings: Haggar

Narrative: In Jewish scripture, Hagar was an Egyptian concubine given to Abraham by his wife Sarah when Sarah passed child-bearing age without producing any offspring. Hagar gave birth to Ishmael, but shortly thereafter Sarah miraculously bore Isaac, destined to be the patriarch of the Jewish people.

With this change of circumstances, Sarah persuaded Abraham to abandon Hagar and her son in the desert. Hagar and Ishmael were saved by the intervention of God, and their descendants became the Arab people. All followers of Islam revere their names, especially in their Arabic forms, Hajar and Ismail.