Ephraim
Ephraim was given to 231 boys in 2025, #988 among boys’ names; 8,236 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 6,820 Americans named Ephraim and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (83% of everyone recorded); the median is 16 years old and half are between 8 and 32.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Ephraim by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Ephraim mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Ephraim is “a male given name from Hebrew.” Its etymology gives the senses “Ephraim” (Efráyim,) and “fruitful” (literally).
From Hebrew אֶפְרַיִם (Efráyim, “Ephraim”, literally “fruitful”), via Latin.
/ˈifɹi.əm/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Ephraim?
#988 among boys’ names, 2025
Ephraim fell from #925 in 2015 to #988 in 2025 among boys’ names, although its share of boys born rose from 0.12 to 0.14 per 1,000.
260 babies in 2017, the peak
Ephraim peaked in 2017, when 260 boys were given it, #848 among boys’ names. The 231 births of 2025 are 89% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 231 | #988 | 0.14 |
| 2024 | 232 | #976 | 0.13 |
| 2023 | 224 | #979 | 0.13 |
| 2022 | 202 | #1,080 | 0.12 |
| 2021 | 229 | #974 | 0.13 |
| 2020 | 210 | #1,005 | 0.12 |
| 2019 | 221 | #970 | 0.12 |
| 2018 | 223 | #939 | 0.12 |
| 2017 | 260 | #848 | 0.14 |
| 2016 | 254 | #871 | 0.13 |
Every recorded year (142)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 231 | #925 | 0.12 |
| 2014 | 229 | #929 | 0.12 |
| 2013 | 210 | #951 | 0.11 |
| 2012 | 199 | #1,002 | 0.10 |
| 2011 | 174 | #1,074 | 0.09 |
| 2010 | 181 | #1,061 | 0.09 |
| 2009 | 184 | #1,039 | 0.09 |
| 2008 | 179 | #1,058 | 0.09 |
| 2007 | 152 | #1,163 | 0.07 |
| 2006 | 151 | #1,134 | 0.07 |
| 2005 | 147 | #1,120 | 0.07 |
| 2004 | 143 | #1,104 | 0.07 |
| 2003 | 115 | #1,255 | 0.06 |
| 2002 | 88 | #1,448 | 0.05 |
| 2001 | 72 | #1,633 | 0.04 |
| 2000 | 94 | #1,351 | 0.05 |
| 1999 | 67 | #1,611 | 0.03 |
| 1998 | 69 | #1,545 | 0.04 |
| 1997 | 68 | #1,522 | 0.04 |
| 1996 | 68 | #1,483 | 0.04 |
| 1995 | 57 | #1,602 | 0.03 |
| 1994 | 71 | #1,384 | 0.04 |
| 1993 | 57 | #1,574 | 0.03 |
| 1992 | 58 | #1,524 | 0.03 |
| 1991 | 61 | #1,449 | 0.03 |
| 1990 | 58 | #1,486 | 0.03 |
| 1989 | 73 | #1,265 | 0.04 |
| 1988 | 61 | #1,319 | 0.03 |
| 1987 | 70 | #1,146 | 0.04 |
| 1986 | 59 | #1,260 | 0.03 |
| 1985 | 61 | #1,218 | 0.03 |
| 1984 | 55 | #1,241 | 0.03 |
| 1983 | 55 | #1,244 | 0.03 |
| 1982 | 65 | #1,135 | 0.04 |
| 1981 | 49 | #1,344 | 0.03 |
| 1980 | 52 | #1,299 | 0.03 |
| 1979 | 47 | #1,358 | 0.03 |
| 1978 | 33 | #1,666 | 0.02 |
| 1977 | 57 | #1,163 | 0.03 |
| 1976 | 52 | #1,198 | 0.03 |
| 1975 | 41 | #1,363 | 0.03 |
| 1974 | 54 | #1,118 | 0.03 |
| 1973 | 37 | #1,384 | 0.02 |
| 1972 | 40 | #1,332 | 0.02 |
| 1971 | 39 | #1,358 | 0.02 |
| 1970 | 39 | #1,339 | 0.02 |
| 1969 | 21 | #1,825 | 0.01 |
| 1968 | 30 | #1,437 | 0.02 |
| 1967 | 30 | #1,391 | 0.02 |
| 1966 | 16 | #1,988 | 0.01 |
| 1965 | 27 | #1,493 | 0.01 |
| 1964 | 20 | #1,812 | 0.01 |
| 1963 | 28 | #1,491 | 0.01 |
| 1962 | 25 | #1,595 | 0.01 |
| 1961 | 27 | #1,556 | 0.01 |
| 1960 | 34 | #1,368 | 0.02 |
| 1959 | 19 | #1,881 | 0.01 |
| 1958 | 20 | #1,786 | 0.01 |
| 1957 | 29 | #1,461 | 0.01 |
| 1956 | 33 | #1,347 | 0.02 |
| 1955 | 24 | #1,576 | 0.01 |
| 1954 | 19 | #1,780 | 0.01 |
| 1953 | 14 | #2,126 | 0.01 |
| 1952 | 23 | #1,592 | 0.01 |
| 1951 | 29 | #1,387 | 0.02 |
| 1950 | 18 | #1,761 | 0.01 |
| 1949 | 23 | #1,552 | 0.01 |
| 1948 | 18 | #1,774 | 0.01 |
| 1947 | 18 | #1,804 | 0.01 |
| 1946 | 19 | #1,655 | 0.01 |
| 1945 | 15 | #1,802 | 0.01 |
| 1944 | 17 | #1,700 | 0.01 |
| 1943 | 20 | #1,597 | 0.01 |
| 1942 | 22 | #1,507 | 0.02 |
| 1941 | 10 | #2,386 | 0.01 |
| 1940 | 15 | #1,831 | 0.01 |
| 1939 | 24 | #1,367 | 0.02 |
| 1938 | 8 | #2,713 | 0.01 |
| 1937 | 10 | #2,368 | 0.01 |
| 1936 | 15 | #1,829 | 0.01 |
| 1935 | 15 | #1,859 | 0.01 |
| 1934 | 22 | #1,471 | 0.02 |
| 1933 | 27 | #1,286 | 0.03 |
| 1932 | 17 | #1,796 | 0.02 |
| 1931 | 19 | #1,656 | 0.02 |
| 1930 | 29 | #1,346 | 0.03 |
| 1929 | 25 | #1,456 | 0.02 |
| 1928 | 30 | #1,333 | 0.03 |
| 1927 | 26 | #1,487 | 0.02 |
| 1926 | 38 | #1,166 | 0.03 |
| 1925 | 36 | #1,188 | 0.03 |
| 1924 | 34 | #1,254 | 0.03 |
| 1923 | 45 | #1,062 | 0.04 |
| 1922 | 36 | #1,202 | 0.03 |
| 1921 | 42 | #1,092 | 0.04 |
| 1920 | 36 | #1,213 | 0.03 |
| 1919 | 27 | #1,391 | 0.03 |
| 1918 | 38 | #1,114 | 0.04 |
| 1917 | 39 | #1,066 | 0.04 |
| 1916 | 30 | #1,219 | 0.03 |
| 1915 | 40 | #1,001 | 0.05 |
| 1914 | 36 | #912 | 0.05 |
| 1913 | 26 | #977 | 0.05 |
| 1912 | 20 | #1,039 | 0.05 |
| 1911 | 13 | #942 | 0.06 |
| 1910 | 6 | #1,465 | 0.03 |
| 1909 | 8 | #1,108 | 0.05 |
| 1908 | 7 | #1,140 | 0.05 |
| 1907 | 7 | #1,129 | 0.05 |
| 1906 | 5 | #1,296 | 0.04 |
| 1904 | 8 | #913 | 0.06 |
| 1902 | 10 | #760 | 0.08 |
| 1900 | 8 | #987 | 0.05 |
| 1899 | 6 | #965 | 0.06 |
| 1898 | 8 | #830 | 0.07 |
| 1897 | 9 | #745 | 0.08 |
| 1895 | 10 | #711 | 0.09 |
| 1894 | 9 | #752 | 0.08 |
| 1893 | 9 | #718 | 0.08 |
| 1892 | 8 | #817 | 0.07 |
| 1891 | 6 | #881 | 0.06 |
| 1890 | 11 | #611 | 0.10 |
| 1889 | 7 | #825 | 0.06 |
| 1888 | 16 | #490 | 0.13 |
| 1887 | 10 | #601 | 0.10 |
| 1886 | 14 | #497 | 0.13 |
| 1885 | 11 | #585 | 0.10 |
| 1884 | 12 | #554 | 0.10 |
| 1883 | 14 | #485 | 0.13 |
| 1882 | 10 | #617 | 0.09 |
| 1881 | 15 | #447 | 0.15 |
| 1880 | 18 | #407 | 0.16 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Ephraim a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Ephraim has been recorded only for boys: SSA lists no girls with the name in 142 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Ephraim: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Ephraim, and how old are they?
6,820 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 83% of the 8,236 Americans ever recorded as Ephraim. The median Ephraim alive today is 16 years old; half are between 8 and 32.
The 2020 Census counted 5,911 people named Ephraim (22 women and girls, 5,889 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 5,690 born in the U.S. The Census count is 4% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 59 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 295 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 548 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 929 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 2,050 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 2,930 |
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 Ephraim born?
The states with the most babies named Ephraim are New York, Pennsylvania and California, with 30% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 26 | #590 | 2.1× |
| Pennsylvania | 16 | #586 | 1.4× |
| California | 15 | #1,263 | 0.5× |
| Utah | 12 | #388 | 2.5× |
| Florida | 12 | #1,078 | 0.6× |
| North Carolina | 11 | #794 | 0.5× |
| Indiana | 10 | #635 | 0.5× |
| Texas | 8 | #1,959 | 0.5× |
| New Jersey | 8 | #790 | 1.2× |
| Michigan | 8 | #860 | 0.3× |
Where Ephraim is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Ephraim is most over-represented in Utah: since 1910 it was given 2.5 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 Ephraim 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 5 names spelled alike, given to 11,756 babies since 1880, Ephraim is the most given (70% of them). In 2025 it was given to 231 of their 295 babies (78%), 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 Ephraim
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 Ephraim and names like it
- Compare Ephraim and EfraimBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2010sEphraim peaked in 2017.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Ephraim since 1910.
- Hebrew namesWiktionary’s origin for Ephraim: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2017The year the most babies were named Ephraim.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Ephraim alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with EMost given first.