Earl
Earl was given to 63 boys in 2025, #2,236 among boys’ names; 291,421 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 85,000 Americans named Earl and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (29% of everyone recorded); the median is 67 years old and half are between 54 and 77.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Earl by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Earl mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Earl is “a male given name from English from the English noun earl.” Its etymology gives the sense “nobleman” (earl).
From earl (“nobleman”).
/ɝl/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Earl?
#2,236 among boys’ names, 2025
Earl fell from #1,355 in 2015 to #2,236 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 67.3 to 36.9 per million.
6,797 babies in 1921, the peak
Earl peaked in 1921, when 6,797 babies were given it (6,754 boys, #31 among boys’ names). The 63 births of 2025 are under 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 63 | #2,236 | 0.04 |
| 2024 | 68 | #2,158 | 0.04 |
| 2023 | 63 | #2,250 | 0.04 |
| 2022 | 78 | #1,970 | 0.04 |
| 2021 | 99 | #1,667 | 0.06 |
| 2020 | 68 | #2,075 | 0.04 |
| 2019 | 97 | #1,664 | 0.05 |
| 2018 | 98 | #1,649 | 0.05 |
| 2017 | 114 | #1,480 | 0.06 |
| 2016 | 110 | #1,525 | 0.06 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 129 | #1,355 | 0.07 |
| 2014 | 105 | #1,526 | 0.05 |
| 2013 | 98 | #1,580 | 0.05 |
| 2012 | 123 | #1,371 | 0.06 |
| 2011 | 115 | #1,431 | 0.06 |
| 2010 | 115 | #1,443 | 0.06 |
| 2009 | 140 | #1,258 | 0.07 |
| 2008 | 170 | #1,093 | 0.08 |
| 2007 | 170 | #1,081 | 0.08 |
| 2006 | 188 | #987 | 0.09 |
| 2005 | 183 | #952 | 0.09 |
| 2004 | 178 | #944 | 0.09 |
| 2003 | 199 | #867 | 0.10 |
| 2002 | 202 | #825 | 0.10 |
| 2001 | 231 | #748 | 0.12 |
| 2000 | 245 | #711 | 0.12 |
| 1999 | 271 | #642 | 0.14 |
| 1998 | 309 | #600 | 0.16 |
| 1997 | 278 | #622 | 0.15 |
| 1996 | 319 | #571 | 0.17 |
| 1995 | 321 | #569 | 0.17 |
| 1994 | 381 | #518 | 0.20 |
| 1993 | 447 | #471 | 0.23 |
| 1992 | 474 | #459 | 0.24 |
| 1991 | 539 | #420 | 0.27 |
| 1990 | 569 | #406 | 0.28 |
| 1989 | 603 | #372 | 0.30 |
| 1988 | 635 | #338 | 0.33 |
| 1987 | 622 | #332 | 0.33 |
| 1986 | 651 | #311 | 0.35 |
| 1985 | 690 | #294 | 0.37 |
| 1984 | 781 | #266 | 0.43 |
| 1983 | 768 | #270 | 0.43 |
| 1982 | 883 | #251 | 0.49 |
| 1981 | 863 | #254 | 0.48 |
| 1980 | 901 | #250 | 0.51 |
| 1979 | 893 | #245 | 0.52 |
| 1978 | 926 | #227 | 0.56 |
| 1977 | 1,002 | #221 | 0.61 |
| 1976 | 941 | #220 | 0.60 |
| 1975 | 1,024 | #212 | 0.66 |
| 1974 | 1,078 | #206 | 0.69 |
| 1973 | 1,157 | #195 | 0.74 |
| 1972 | 1,251 | #188 | 0.77 |
| 1971 | 1,502 | #178 | 0.85 |
| 1970 | 1,630 | #173 | 0.88 |
| 1969 | 1,620 | #172 | 0.91 |
| 1968 | 1,652 | #164 | 1.0 |
| 1967 | 1,653 | #163 | 0.95 |
| 1966 | 1,752 | #160 | 1.0 |
| 1965 | 1,949 | #156 | 1.0 |
| 1964 | 2,196 | #149 | 1.1 |
| 1963 | 2,159 | #154 | 1.1 |
| 1962 | 2,304 | #147 | 1.1 |
| 1961 | 2,519 | #139 | 1.2 |
| 1960 | 2,565 | #139 | 1.2 |
| 1959 | 2,687 | #135 | 1.3 |
| 1958 | 2,800 | #130 | 1.3 |
| 1957 | 3,139 | #122 | 1.5 |
| 1956 | 3,304 | #110 | 1.6 |
| 1955 | 3,246 | #106 | 1.6 |
| 1954 | 3,424 | #98 | 1.7 |
| 1953 | 3,437 | #96 | 1.7 |
| 1952 | 3,456 | #98 | 1.8 |
| 1951 | 3,571 | #95 | 1.9 |
| 1950 | 3,589 | #92 | 2.0 |
| 1949 | 3,652 | #91 | 2.1 |
| 1948 | 3,977 | #83 | 2.3 |
| 1947 | 4,242 | #83 | 2.3 |
| 1946 | 3,830 | #82 | 2.4 |
| 1945 | 3,567 | #71 | 2.7 |
| 1944 | 3,874 | #65 | 2.8 |
| 1943 | 4,186 | #60 | 2.9 |
| 1942 | 4,050 | #62 | 2.9 |
| 1941 | 3,806 | #58 | 3.1 |
| 1940 | 3,944 | #52 | 3.4 |
| 1939 | 3,896 | #50 | 3.5 |
| 1938 | 4,007 | #50 | 3.6 |
| 1937 | 3,942 | #48 | 3.7 |
| 1936 | 4,106 | #47 | 4.0 |
| 1935 | 4,224 | #46 | 4.1 |
| 1934 | 4,628 | #41 | 4.5 |
| 1933 | 4,374 | #41 | 4.4 |
| 1932 | 4,822 | #41 | 4.6 |
| 1931 | 5,047 | #40 | 4.9 |
| 1930 | 5,567 | #38 | 5.1 |
| 1929 | 5,737 | #36 | 5.3 |
| 1928 | 5,966 | #37 | 5.4 |
| 1927 | 6,406 | #33 | 5.7 |
| 1926 | 6,441 | #32 | 5.8 |
| 1925 | 6,436 | #31 | 5.8 |
| 1924 | 6,529 | #33 | 5.8 |
| 1923 | 6,339 | #31 | 5.8 |
| 1922 | 6,461 | #31 | 5.9 |
| 1921 | 6,754 | #31 | 6.1 |
| 1920 | 6,533 | #31 | 6.1 |
| 1919 | 5,975 | #31 | 6.1 |
| 1918 | 6,321 | #31 | 6.2 |
| 1917 | 5,632 | #32 | 6.1 |
| 1916 | 5,553 | #32 | 6.2 |
| 1915 | 4,908 | #33 | 5.8 |
| 1914 | 3,842 | #33 | 5.9 |
| 1913 | 3,110 | #31 | 6.1 |
| 1912 | 2,518 | #34 | 5.9 |
| 1911 | 1,305 | #34 | 5.8 |
| 1910 | 1,109 | #33 | 5.7 |
| 1909 | 1,007 | #31 | 6.1 |
| 1908 | 999 | #32 | 6.5 |
| 1907 | 1,006 | #28 | 6.9 |
| 1906 | 912 | #29 | 6.8 |
| 1905 | 904 | #29 | 6.8 |
| 1904 | 854 | #29 | 6.7 |
| 1903 | 837 | #27 | 7.0 |
| 1902 | 877 | #27 | 7.1 |
| 1901 | 818 | #23 | 7.7 |
| 1900 | 1,037 | #28 | 6.9 |
| 1899 | 821 | #23 | 7.7 |
| 1898 | 883 | #25 | 7.2 |
| 1897 | 829 | #24 | 7.4 |
| 1896 | 892 | #21 | 7.5 |
| 1895 | 851 | #23 | 7.2 |
| 1894 | 896 | #20 | 7.7 |
| 1893 | 819 | #21 | 7.3 |
| 1892 | 888 | #21 | 7.3 |
| 1891 | 674 | #25 | 6.7 |
| 1890 | 744 | #24 | 6.7 |
| 1889 | 688 | #28 | 6.2 |
| 1888 | 675 | #30 | 5.6 |
| 1887 | 537 | #32 | 5.3 |
| 1886 | 570 | #31 | 5.1 |
| 1885 | 481 | #36 | 4.5 |
| 1884 | 464 | #40 | 4.1 |
| 1883 | 389 | #42 | 3.7 |
| 1882 | 377 | #49 | 3.3 |
| 1881 | 314 | #48 | 3.1 |
| 1880 | 335 | #52 | 3.0 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Earl a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Earl has been given almost only to boys: 2,247 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Earl: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Earl, and how old are they?
85,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 29% of the 291,421 Americans ever recorded as Earl. The median Earl alive today is 67 years old; half are between 54 and 77.
The 2020 Census counted 92,567 people named Earl (241 women and girls, 92,326 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 104,778 born in the U.S. The Census count is 12% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 14,200 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 38,800 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 18,500 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 9,090 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 3,060 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,180 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Earl born?
The states with the most babies named Earl are Pennsylvania, Ohio and Illinois, with 18% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 20,128 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Ohio | 14,817 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 13,901 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| New York | 11,951 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Texas | 11,526 | #2,142 | 0.7× |
| Michigan | 10,438 | #1,154 | 0.9× |
| California | 10,272 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Kentucky | 10,166 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| North Carolina | 9,754 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Louisiana | 9,414 | not ranked | 1.7× |
Where Earl is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Earl is most over-represented in Louisiana: since 1910 it was given 1.7 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Earl with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 4 names spelled alike, given to 300,779 babies since 1880, Earl is the most given (97% of them). In 2025 it was given to 63 of their 80 babies (79%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Earl
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Earl and names like it
- Compare Earl and ErrolBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sEarl peaked in 1921.
- Pennsylvania’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Earl since 1910.
- English namesWiktionary’s origin for Earl: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1921The year the most babies were named Earl.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Earl alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with EMost given first.