The Hebrew name Abram is composed of ab (father) and ram (high, exalted). It means 'exalted father' or 'high father.' This was the original name of the patriarch Abraham before God changed it to Abraham (H85) meaning 'father of a multitude' (Genesis 17:5).
Abram was the name the great patriarch carried for the first 99 years of his life — through his call from Ur (Genesis 12), his journey to Canaan, his faith counted as righteousness (Genesis 15:6), and his covenant with God. The name 'exalted father' was ironic in his early years, for he had no children. Yet God saw in Abram what he would become, and the covenant promise transformed his name: Abram became Abraham, 'father of many nations.' Paul points to Abraham's faith under the name Abram as the foundation of the doctrine of justification by faith apart from works (Romans 4:3).