Errol
Errol was given to 17 boys in 2025, #5,452 among boys’ names; 8,631 Americans have been recorded with it since 1896 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 5,840 Americans named Errol and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (68% of everyone recorded); the median is 55 years old and half are between 38 and 68.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Errol by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Errol mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Errol is “a male given name transferred from the surname, popularized by American Actor Errol Flynn.”
Transferred from a rare Scottish surname derived from a place name, of unknown meaning. Later interpreted as a variant of Earl in the U.S.
/ˈɛɹəl/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Errol?
#5,452 among boys’ names, 2025
Errol fell from #3,810 in 2015 to #5,452 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 14.6 to 10.0 per million.
272 babies in 1941, the peak
Errol peaked in 1941, when 272 boys were given it, #354 among boys’ names. The 17 births of 2025 are 6% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 17 | #5,452 | 0.01 |
| 2024 | 15 | #5,989 | 0.01 |
| 2023 | 15 | #6,015 | 0.01 |
| 2022 | 8 | #9,237 | under 0.01 |
| 2021 | 16 | #5,613 | 0.01 |
| 2020 | 20 | #4,745 | 0.01 |
| 2019 | 23 | #4,375 | 0.01 |
| 2018 | 28 | #3,812 | 0.02 |
| 2017 | 28 | #3,804 | 0.02 |
| 2016 | 25 | #4,128 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (116)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 28 | #3,810 | 0.01 |
| 2014 | 21 | #4,586 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 39 | #2,906 | 0.02 |
| 2012 | 31 | #3,465 | 0.02 |
| 2011 | 19 | #4,870 | 0.01 |
| 2010 | 33 | #3,331 | 0.02 |
| 2009 | 30 | #3,576 | 0.02 |
| 2008 | 32 | #3,437 | 0.02 |
| 2007 | 32 | #3,393 | 0.02 |
| 2006 | 32 | #3,332 | 0.02 |
| 2005 | 39 | #2,760 | 0.02 |
| 2004 | 37 | #2,797 | 0.02 |
| 2003 | 38 | #2,630 | 0.02 |
| 2002 | 36 | #2,651 | 0.02 |
| 2001 | 33 | #2,823 | 0.02 |
| 2000 | 49 | #2,059 | 0.02 |
| 1999 | 29 | #2,887 | 0.02 |
| 1998 | 55 | #1,814 | 0.03 |
| 1997 | 54 | #1,773 | 0.03 |
| 1996 | 55 | #1,710 | 0.03 |
| 1995 | 73 | #1,378 | 0.04 |
| 1994 | 71 | #1,385 | 0.04 |
| 1993 | 63 | #1,472 | 0.03 |
| 1992 | 82 | #1,245 | 0.04 |
| 1991 | 81 | #1,234 | 0.04 |
| 1990 | 85 | #1,179 | 0.04 |
| 1989 | 75 | #1,243 | 0.04 |
| 1988 | 70 | #1,213 | 0.04 |
| 1987 | 86 | #1,026 | 0.05 |
| 1986 | 75 | #1,078 | 0.04 |
| 1985 | 110 | #859 | 0.06 |
| 1984 | 85 | #962 | 0.05 |
| 1983 | 89 | #937 | 0.05 |
| 1982 | 105 | #868 | 0.06 |
| 1981 | 92 | #937 | 0.05 |
| 1980 | 114 | #823 | 0.06 |
| 1979 | 87 | #947 | 0.05 |
| 1978 | 116 | #786 | 0.07 |
| 1977 | 110 | #815 | 0.07 |
| 1976 | 110 | #791 | 0.07 |
| 1975 | 94 | #858 | 0.06 |
| 1974 | 103 | #790 | 0.07 |
| 1973 | 78 | #906 | 0.05 |
| 1972 | 109 | #760 | 0.07 |
| 1971 | 117 | #762 | 0.07 |
| 1970 | 140 | #704 | 0.08 |
| 1969 | 140 | #667 | 0.08 |
| 1968 | 127 | #667 | 0.07 |
| 1967 | 128 | #661 | 0.07 |
| 1966 | 107 | #719 | 0.06 |
| 1965 | 125 | #663 | 0.07 |
| 1964 | 141 | #651 | 0.07 |
| 1963 | 130 | #681 | 0.06 |
| 1962 | 117 | #709 | 0.06 |
| 1961 | 130 | #678 | 0.06 |
| 1960 | 148 | #640 | 0.07 |
| 1959 | 151 | #629 | 0.07 |
| 1958 | 132 | #665 | 0.06 |
| 1957 | 130 | #666 | 0.06 |
| 1956 | 105 | #715 | 0.05 |
| 1955 | 102 | #723 | 0.05 |
| 1954 | 88 | #759 | 0.04 |
| 1953 | 106 | #693 | 0.05 |
| 1952 | 124 | #631 | 0.06 |
| 1951 | 123 | #636 | 0.07 |
| 1950 | 136 | #583 | 0.08 |
| 1949 | 134 | #581 | 0.08 |
| 1948 | 147 | #552 | 0.08 |
| 1947 | 151 | #548 | 0.08 |
| 1946 | 156 | #514 | 0.10 |
| 1945 | 119 | #548 | 0.09 |
| 1944 | 147 | #499 | 0.11 |
| 1943 | 201 | #445 | 0.14 |
| 1942 | 224 | #409 | 0.16 |
| 1941 | 272 | #354 | 0.22 |
| 1940 | 246 | #365 | 0.21 |
| 1939 | 242 | #364 | 0.22 |
| 1938 | 178 | #428 | 0.16 |
| 1937 | 136 | #491 | 0.13 |
| 1936 | 46 | #909 | 0.04 |
| 1935 | 17 | #1,728 | 0.02 |
| 1934 | 18 | #1,682 | 0.02 |
| 1933 | 14 | #1,938 | 0.01 |
| 1932 | 11 | #2,371 | 0.01 |
| 1931 | 13 | #2,137 | 0.01 |
| 1930 | 16 | #1,914 | 0.01 |
| 1929 | 17 | #1,880 | 0.02 |
| 1928 | 19 | #1,783 | 0.02 |
| 1927 | 22 | #1,660 | 0.02 |
| 1926 | 15 | #2,109 | 0.01 |
| 1925 | 23 | #1,600 | 0.02 |
| 1924 | 17 | #1,984 | 0.02 |
| 1923 | 19 | #1,826 | 0.02 |
| 1922 | 24 | #1,557 | 0.02 |
| 1921 | 20 | #1,785 | 0.02 |
| 1920 | 20 | #1,777 | 0.02 |
| 1919 | 19 | #1,769 | 0.02 |
| 1918 | 26 | #1,414 | 0.03 |
| 1917 | 14 | #2,117 | 0.02 |
| 1916 | 13 | #2,183 | 0.01 |
| 1915 | 10 | #2,499 | 0.01 |
| 1914 | 8 | #2,506 | 0.01 |
| 1913 | 10 | #1,842 | 0.02 |
| 1912 | 9 | #1,784 | 0.02 |
| 1897 | 5 | #1,115 | 0.04 |
| 1896 | 6 | #1,023 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Errol a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Errol has been recorded only for boys: SSA lists no girls with the name in 116 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Errol: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Errol, and how old are they?
5,840 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 68% of the 8,631 Americans ever recorded as Errol. The median Errol alive today is 55 years old; half are between 38 and 68.
The 2020 Census counted 9,033 people named Errol (51 women and girls, 8,982 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 6,383 born in the U.S. The Census count is 42% above 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.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 557 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,610 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,590 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,230 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 569 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 281 |
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 Errol born?
The states with the most babies named Errol are New York, Louisiana and California, with 56% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Louisiana is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 1,097 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Louisiana | 904 | not ranked | 5.2× |
| California | 658 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Florida | 386 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| Illinois | 326 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Texas | 269 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Michigan | 178 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Ohio | 150 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Pennsylvania | 95 | not ranked | 0.2× |
| Massachusetts | 72 | not ranked | 0.3× |
Where Errol is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Errol is most over-represented in Louisiana: since 1910 it was given 5.2 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 Errol 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 301,601 babies since 1880, Errol is the second most given (2.9% of them). In 2025 it was given to 17 of their 80 babies (21%), again the second 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 Errol
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 Errol and names like it
- Compare Errol and EarlBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1940sErrol peaked in 1941.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Errol since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Errol: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1941The year the most babies were named Errol.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Errol alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with EMost given first.