Ethan
Ethan was given to 7,852 boys in 2025, #24 among boys’ names; 488,144 Americans have been recorded with it since 1882 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 479,000 Americans named Ethan and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (98% of everyone recorded); the median is 19 years old and half are between 12 and 24.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Ethan by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Ethan mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Ethan is “a male given name from Hebrew, of mostly American usage since the 18th century; popular in the 2000s.” Its etymology gives the sense “firmness, strong, or long-lived” (literally).
From Biblical Hebrew אֵיתָן (ʾêṯān, literally “firmness, strong, or long-lived”).
/ˈiːθən/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Ethan?
#24 among boys’ names, 2025
Ethan fell from #6 in 2015 to #24 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 7.9 to 4.6 per 1,000.
22,336 babies in 2004, the peak
Ethan peaked in 2004, when 22,336 babies were given it (22,210 boys, #5 among boys’ names). The 7,859 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 35% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 7,852 | #24 | 4.6 |
| 2024 | 8,201 | #19 | 4.8 |
| 2023 | 7,810 | #24 | 4.6 |
| 2022 | 8,312 | #21 | 4.8 |
| 2021 | 8,863 | #20 | 5.1 |
| 2020 | 9,556 | #13 | 5.5 |
| 2019 | 11,311 | #11 | 6.3 |
| 2018 | 11,931 | #12 | 6.6 |
| 2017 | 12,483 | #14 | 6.7 |
| 2016 | 13,855 | #10 | 7.3 |
Every recorded year (126)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 15,103 | #6 | 7.9 |
| 2014 | 15,749 | #6 | 8.2 |
| 2013 | 16,260 | #6 | 8.6 |
| 2012 | 17,697 | #3 | 9.3 |
| 2011 | 16,702 | #7 | 8.8 |
| 2010 | 18,020 | #2 | 9.4 |
| 2009 | 19,858 | #2 | 10.0 |
| 2008 | 20,223 | #3 | 9.9 |
| 2007 | 21,041 | #3 | 10.1 |
| 2006 | 20,522 | #4 | 10.0 |
| 2005 | 21,318 | #5 | 10.7 |
| 2004 | 22,210 | #5 | 11.2 |
| 2003 | 21,362 | #7 | 10.8 |
| 2002 | 22,113 | #5 | 11.4 |
| 2001 | 17,962 | #17 | 9.2 |
| 2000 | 15,226 | #25 | 7.8 |
| 1999 | 11,446 | #37 | 6.0 |
| 1998 | 10,536 | #38 | 5.5 |
| 1997 | 7,807 | #46 | 4.1 |
| 1996 | 5,853 | #62 | 3.1 |
| 1995 | 4,934 | #75 | 2.6 |
| 1994 | 4,166 | #89 | 2.2 |
| 1993 | 4,164 | #92 | 2.1 |
| 1992 | 4,906 | #76 | 2.5 |
| 1991 | 6,129 | #65 | 3.0 |
| 1990 | 6,989 | #58 | 3.4 |
| 1989 | 4,056 | #87 | 2.0 |
| 1988 | 896 | #261 | 0.47 |
| 1987 | 656 | #321 | 0.35 |
| 1986 | 598 | #332 | 0.32 |
| 1985 | 670 | #307 | 0.36 |
| 1984 | 728 | #285 | 0.40 |
| 1983 | 732 | #280 | 0.41 |
| 1982 | 713 | #288 | 0.39 |
| 1981 | 735 | #282 | 0.41 |
| 1980 | 706 | #291 | 0.40 |
| 1979 | 706 | #285 | 0.41 |
| 1978 | 627 | #297 | 0.38 |
| 1977 | 674 | #291 | 0.41 |
| 1976 | 563 | #312 | 0.36 |
| 1975 | 541 | #327 | 0.35 |
| 1974 | 525 | #333 | 0.33 |
| 1973 | 519 | #331 | 0.33 |
| 1972 | 513 | #341 | 0.32 |
| 1971 | 365 | #421 | 0.21 |
| 1970 | 268 | #495 | 0.14 |
| 1969 | 218 | #532 | 0.12 |
| 1968 | 169 | #583 | 0.10 |
| 1967 | 186 | #546 | 0.11 |
| 1966 | 169 | #582 | 0.09 |
| 1965 | 183 | #564 | 0.10 |
| 1964 | 202 | #556 | 0.10 |
| 1963 | 135 | #675 | 0.07 |
| 1962 | 132 | #675 | 0.06 |
| 1961 | 113 | #721 | 0.05 |
| 1960 | 94 | #790 | 0.04 |
| 1959 | 83 | #834 | 0.04 |
| 1958 | 73 | #884 | 0.03 |
| 1957 | 65 | #940 | 0.03 |
| 1956 | 62 | #947 | 0.03 |
| 1955 | 53 | #1,037 | 0.03 |
| 1954 | 64 | #929 | 0.03 |
| 1953 | 43 | #1,127 | 0.02 |
| 1952 | 52 | #995 | 0.03 |
| 1951 | 32 | #1,312 | 0.02 |
| 1950 | 26 | #1,442 | 0.01 |
| 1949 | 29 | #1,355 | 0.02 |
| 1948 | 29 | #1,355 | 0.02 |
| 1947 | 26 | #1,459 | 0.01 |
| 1946 | 27 | #1,362 | 0.02 |
| 1945 | 21 | #1,460 | 0.02 |
| 1944 | 28 | #1,266 | 0.02 |
| 1943 | 31 | #1,243 | 0.02 |
| 1942 | 21 | #1,553 | 0.02 |
| 1941 | 25 | #1,343 | 0.02 |
| 1940 | 17 | #1,700 | 0.01 |
| 1939 | 33 | #1,127 | 0.03 |
| 1938 | 20 | #1,539 | 0.02 |
| 1937 | 18 | #1,653 | 0.02 |
| 1936 | 23 | #1,396 | 0.02 |
| 1935 | 25 | #1,371 | 0.02 |
| 1934 | 20 | #1,577 | 0.02 |
| 1933 | 23 | #1,420 | 0.02 |
| 1932 | 19 | #1,673 | 0.02 |
| 1931 | 25 | #1,406 | 0.02 |
| 1930 | 19 | #1,713 | 0.02 |
| 1929 | 18 | #1,818 | 0.02 |
| 1928 | 25 | #1,489 | 0.02 |
| 1927 | 27 | #1,445 | 0.02 |
| 1926 | 27 | #1,413 | 0.02 |
| 1925 | 17 | #1,954 | 0.02 |
| 1924 | 14 | #2,270 | 0.01 |
| 1923 | 21 | #1,713 | 0.02 |
| 1922 | 27 | #1,446 | 0.02 |
| 1921 | 26 | #1,489 | 0.02 |
| 1920 | 31 | #1,304 | 0.03 |
| 1919 | 28 | #1,363 | 0.03 |
| 1918 | 25 | #1,463 | 0.02 |
| 1917 | 20 | #1,660 | 0.02 |
| 1916 | 23 | #1,475 | 0.03 |
| 1915 | 27 | #1,278 | 0.03 |
| 1914 | 25 | #1,168 | 0.04 |
| 1913 | 13 | #1,525 | 0.03 |
| 1912 | 16 | #1,195 | 0.04 |
| 1911 | 7 | #1,434 | 0.03 |
| 1909 | 6 | #1,333 | 0.04 |
| 1908 | 5 | #1,453 | 0.03 |
| 1901 | 6 | #984 | 0.06 |
| 1898 | 7 | #913 | 0.06 |
| 1896 | 9 | #792 | 0.08 |
| 1893 | 9 | #719 | 0.08 |
| 1891 | 6 | #884 | 0.06 |
| 1887 | 7 | #773 | 0.07 |
| 1886 | 6 | #880 | 0.05 |
| 1884 | 10 | #630 | 0.09 |
| 1882 | 7 | #781 | 0.06 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Ethan a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Ethan has been given almost only to boys: 755 girls in 126 years of records.
Girls and boys named Ethan: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Ethan, and how old are they?
479,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 98% of the 488,144 Americans ever recorded as Ethan. The median Ethan alive today is 19 years old; half are between 12 and 24.
The 2020 Census counted 403,009 people named Ethan (715 women and girls, 402,294 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 433,215 born in the U.S. The Census count is 7% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 83 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 958 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 6,220 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 45,100 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 280,000 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 146,000 |
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 Ethan born?
The states with the most babies named Ethan are California, Texas and Florida, with 37% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 1,236 | #12 | 1.0× |
| Texas | 1,005 | #14 | 0.9× |
| Florida | 651 | #12 | 0.9× |
| New York | 630 | #10 | 1.0× |
| New Jersey | 295 | #14 | 0.8× |
| Pennsylvania | 261 | #35 | 1.0× |
| Georgia | 250 | #21 | 0.9× |
| Illinois | 245 | #28 | 0.9× |
| North Carolina | 225 | #41 | 0.9× |
| Virginia | 225 | #16 | 1.0× |
Where Ethan is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Ethan is most over-represented in Vermont: since 1910 it was given 1.1 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 Ethan 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 8 names spelled alike, given to 505,218 babies since 1880, Ethan is the most given (97% of them). In 2025 it was given to 7,859 of their 11,701 babies (67%), 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 Ethan
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 Ethan and names like it
- Compare Ethan and EithanBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2000sEthan peaked in 2004.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Ethan since 1910.
- Hebrew namesWiktionary’s origin for Ethan: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2004The year the most babies were named Ethan.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Ethan alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with EMost given first.