Charles Ellicott Commentary Genesis 17:5

"Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for the father of a multitude of nations have I made thee." — Genesis 17:5 (ASV)

Abram.—That is, high father.

Abraham means Father of a multitude, as “raham” is an Arabic word, perhaps current in Hebrew in ancient times. Another interpretation of Abram is that it is equivalent to Abi-aram, Father of Aram, or Syria. This too is an Arabic form, like Abimael in Genesis 10:28. Some commentators emphasize the insertion of the letter “h,” as representing the name Yahveh or Yehveh (compare the change of Oshea into Jehoshua, Numbers 13:16).