Erastus
Erastus was last recorded in 1957, when 5 babies were given it; 407 Americans have been recorded with it between 1880 and 1957 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Erastus by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Erastus mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Erastus is “a male given name from Ancient Greek of biblical derivation.” Its etymology gives the sense “lovable” (ἐραστός).
From Ancient Greek Ἔραστος (Érastos), from ἐραστός (erastós, “lovable”).
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Erastus?
Unranked in 2025
Its last boys’ rank on record is #4,158, in 1957; SSA lists a name only in years with 5 or more births.
23 babies in 1916, the peak
Erastus peaked in 1916, when 23 boys were given it, #1,473 among boys’ names. It was not recorded in 2025.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | 5 | #4,158 | under 0.01 |
| 1949 | 6 | #3,437 | under 0.01 |
| 1946 | 8 | #2,764 | under 0.01 |
| 1942 | 5 | #3,728 | under 0.01 |
| 1939 | 7 | #2,923 | 0.01 |
| 1934 | 5 | #3,847 | under 0.01 |
| 1933 | 5 | #3,813 | 0.01 |
| 1930 | 6 | #3,710 | 0.01 |
| 1929 | 7 | #3,332 | 0.01 |
| 1928 | 7 | #3,469 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (41)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1927 | 10 | #2,768 | 0.01 |
| 1926 | 12 | #2,464 | 0.01 |
| 1925 | 8 | #3,224 | 0.01 |
| 1924 | 10 | #2,874 | 0.01 |
| 1923 | 11 | #2,665 | 0.01 |
| 1922 | 10 | #2,868 | 0.01 |
| 1921 | 18 | #1,929 | 0.02 |
| 1920 | 10 | #2,832 | 0.01 |
| 1919 | 16 | #1,999 | 0.02 |
| 1918 | 14 | #2,190 | 0.01 |
| 1917 | 6 | #3,679 | 0.01 |
| 1916 | 23 | #1,473 | 0.03 |
| 1915 | 21 | #1,518 | 0.02 |
| 1914 | 13 | #1,808 | 0.02 |
| 1913 | 7 | #2,339 | 0.01 |
| 1912 | 10 | #1,657 | 0.02 |
| 1904 | 5 | #1,262 | 0.04 |
| 1900 | 5 | #1,376 | 0.03 |
| 1898 | 5 | #1,183 | 0.04 |
| 1897 | 5 | #1,112 | 0.04 |
| 1896 | 12 | #650 | 0.10 |
| 1893 | 6 | #940 | 0.05 |
| 1891 | 7 | #793 | 0.07 |
| 1888 | 12 | #587 | 0.10 |
| 1887 | 11 | #558 | 0.11 |
| 1886 | 10 | #616 | 0.09 |
| 1885 | 15 | #487 | 0.14 |
| 1884 | 10 | #629 | 0.09 |
| 1882 | 14 | #500 | 0.12 |
| 1881 | 11 | #542 | 0.11 |
| 1880 | 19 | #394 | 0.17 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Erastus a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Erastus has been recorded only for boys: SSA lists no girls with the name in 41 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Erastus: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Erastus, and how old are they?
An estimated 16 Americans named Erastus and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026, too few to state an age range. An estimate from SSA’s births and life tables, not a count.
The 2020 Census counted 166 people named Erastus (3 women and girls, 163 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 26 born in the U.S. The Census count is 6.4 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
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).
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Erastus
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 Erastus and names like it
- Compare Erastus and ArchBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sErastus peaked in 1916.
- North Carolina’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Erastus since 1910.
- Ancient Greek namesWiktionary’s origin for Erastus: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1916The year the most babies were named Erastus.
- Names starting with EMost given first.