Ethel
Ethel was given to 34 girls in 2025, #4,210 among girls’ names; 280,412 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 34,900 Americans named Ethel and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (13% of everyone recorded); the median is 78 years old and half are between 69 and 85.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Ethel by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Ethel mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Ethel is “a female given name from Old English, popular at the turn of the 20th century.” Its etymology gives the sense “noble” (æþele).
Short form of names of Old English origin beginning with Ethel-, æþele (“noble”). First used in the 19th century. Cognate to the Germanic Adela and Adele.
/ˈɛθɪl/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Ethel?
#4,210 among girls’ names, 2025
Ethel rose from #9,124 in 2015 to #4,210 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 6.7 to 21.2 per million.
8,110 babies in 1918, the peak
Ethel peaked in 1918, when 8,110 babies were given it (8,075 girls, #28 among girls’ names). The 34 births of 2025 are under 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 34 | #4,210 | 0.02 |
| 2024 | 27 | #4,934 | 0.02 |
| 2023 | 23 | #5,436 | 0.01 |
| 2022 | 28 | #4,832 | 0.02 |
| 2021 | 27 | #4,876 | 0.02 |
| 2020 | 26 | #4,931 | 0.02 |
| 2019 | 23 | #5,486 | 0.01 |
| 2018 | 32 | #4,386 | 0.02 |
| 2017 | 28 | #4,849 | 0.02 |
| 2016 | 25 | #5,336 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 12 | #9,124 | 0.01 |
| 2014 | 21 | #6,057 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 14 | #8,268 | 0.01 |
| 2012 | 15 | #7,950 | 0.01 |
| 2011 | 14 | #8,329 | 0.01 |
| 2010 | 14 | #8,393 | 0.01 |
| 2009 | 15 | #8,177 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 13 | #9,132 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 17 | #7,492 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 13 | #8,881 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 20 | #6,081 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 23 | #5,425 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 24 | #5,133 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 29 | #4,307 | 0.02 |
| 2001 | 19 | #5,888 | 0.01 |
| 2000 | 14 | #7,278 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 23 | #4,765 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 18 | #5,646 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 14 | #6,590 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 28 | #3,867 | 0.02 |
| 1995 | 25 | #4,129 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 22 | #4,572 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 27 | #3,900 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 33 | #3,350 | 0.02 |
| 1991 | 36 | #3,105 | 0.02 |
| 1990 | 46 | #2,573 | 0.02 |
| 1989 | 51 | #2,307 | 0.03 |
| 1988 | 30 | #3,243 | 0.02 |
| 1987 | 29 | #3,197 | 0.02 |
| 1986 | 46 | #2,235 | 0.03 |
| 1985 | 54 | #2,001 | 0.03 |
| 1984 | 48 | #2,086 | 0.03 |
| 1983 | 70 | #1,589 | 0.04 |
| 1982 | 82 | #1,463 | 0.05 |
| 1981 | 63 | #1,770 | 0.04 |
| 1980 | 74 | #1,575 | 0.04 |
| 1979 | 87 | #1,411 | 0.05 |
| 1978 | 106 | #1,187 | 0.07 |
| 1977 | 106 | #1,171 | 0.07 |
| 1976 | 114 | #1,073 | 0.08 |
| 1975 | 149 | #889 | 0.10 |
| 1974 | 130 | #954 | 0.09 |
| 1973 | 181 | #755 | 0.12 |
| 1972 | 180 | #769 | 0.12 |
| 1971 | 218 | #698 | 0.13 |
| 1970 | 228 | #689 | 0.13 |
| 1969 | 275 | #600 | 0.16 |
| 1968 | 283 | #568 | 0.17 |
| 1967 | 341 | #513 | 0.21 |
| 1966 | 364 | #491 | 0.22 |
| 1965 | 440 | #457 | 0.25 |
| 1964 | 517 | #431 | 0.27 |
| 1963 | 524 | #425 | 0.27 |
| 1962 | 581 | #398 | 0.30 |
| 1961 | 635 | #381 | 0.31 |
| 1960 | 731 | #359 | 0.36 |
| 1959 | 681 | #364 | 0.34 |
| 1958 | 856 | #311 | 0.43 |
| 1957 | 879 | #310 | 0.43 |
| 1956 | 1,076 | #256 | 0.54 |
| 1955 | 1,103 | #247 | 0.56 |
| 1954 | 1,176 | #235 | 0.61 |
| 1953 | 1,281 | #225 | 0.68 |
| 1952 | 1,398 | #205 | 0.75 |
| 1951 | 1,492 | #191 | 0.83 |
| 1950 | 1,602 | #176 | 0.94 |
| 1949 | 1,753 | #164 | 1.0 |
| 1948 | 1,872 | #152 | 1.1 |
| 1947 | 2,085 | #144 | 1.2 |
| 1946 | 1,933 | #140 | 1.2 |
| 1945 | 1,817 | #134 | 1.4 |
| 1944 | 2,056 | #127 | 1.5 |
| 1943 | 2,217 | #126 | 1.6 |
| 1942 | 2,203 | #124 | 1.6 |
| 1941 | 2,273 | #116 | 1.9 |
| 1940 | 2,373 | #106 | 2.1 |
| 1939 | 2,496 | #100 | 2.3 |
| 1938 | 2,726 | #94 | 2.5 |
| 1937 | 2,763 | #88 | 2.6 |
| 1936 | 2,730 | #90 | 2.6 |
| 1935 | 3,003 | #82 | 2.9 |
| 1934 | 3,178 | #78 | 3.0 |
| 1933 | 3,217 | #71 | 3.2 |
| 1932 | 3,608 | #66 | 3.4 |
| 1931 | 3,760 | #67 | 3.5 |
| 1930 | 4,101 | #65 | 3.6 |
| 1929 | 4,519 | #56 | 4.0 |
| 1928 | 4,928 | #55 | 4.3 |
| 1927 | 5,483 | #47 | 4.6 |
| 1926 | 5,856 | #41 | 4.9 |
| 1925 | 6,176 | #43 | 5.1 |
| 1924 | 6,586 | #39 | 5.3 |
| 1923 | 6,541 | #38 | 5.4 |
| 1922 | 7,246 | #32 | 6.0 |
| 1921 | 7,603 | #32 | 6.2 |
| 1920 | 7,868 | #30 | 6.6 |
| 1919 | 7,809 | #28 | 6.9 |
| 1918 | 8,075 | #28 | 7.0 |
| 1917 | 7,865 | #24 | 7.3 |
| 1916 | 7,601 | #25 | 7.3 |
| 1915 | 7,379 | #23 | 7.5 |
| 1914 | 6,204 | #21 | 8.1 |
| 1913 | 5,369 | #20 | 8.6 |
| 1912 | 5,073 | #18 | 9.1 |
| 1911 | 4,141 | #15 | 9.9 |
| 1910 | 4,146 | #13 | 10.5 |
| 1909 | 3,661 | #13 | 10.5 |
| 1908 | 3,786 | #12 | 11.3 |
| 1907 | 3,698 | #12 | 11.6 |
| 1906 | 3,511 | #12 | 11.9 |
| 1905 | 3,401 | #12 | 11.7 |
| 1904 | 3,296 | #11 | 12.0 |
| 1903 | 3,257 | #9 | 12.4 |
| 1902 | 3,295 | #9 | 12.5 |
| 1901 | 3,067 | #9 | 12.8 |
| 1900 | 3,896 | #8 | 13.0 |
| 1899 | 2,999 | #9 | 12.9 |
| 1898 | 3,531 | #8 | 13.6 |
| 1897 | 3,182 | #8 | 13.6 |
| 1896 | 3,502 | #6 | 14.7 |
| 1895 | 3,391 | #8 | 14.5 |
| 1894 | 3,287 | #7 | 14.7 |
| 1893 | 3,119 | #8 | 14.6 |
| 1892 | 3,035 | #8 | 14.3 |
| 1891 | 2,689 | #7 | 14.5 |
| 1890 | 2,718 | #7 | 14.3 |
| 1889 | 2,463 | #8 | 13.8 |
| 1888 | 2,374 | #9 | 13.3 |
| 1887 | 1,907 | #11 | 13.1 |
| 1886 | 1,699 | #15 | 11.8 |
| 1885 | 1,495 | #15 | 11.2 |
| 1884 | 1,386 | #18 | 10.7 |
| 1883 | 1,132 | #20 | 10.1 |
| 1882 | 989 | #24 | 9.2 |
| 1881 | 788 | #25 | 8.6 |
| 1880 | 633 | #38 | 7.0 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Ethel a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Ethel has been given almost only to girls: 1,490 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Ethel: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Ethel, and how old are they?
34,900 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 13% of the 280,412 Americans ever recorded as Ethel. The median Ethel alive today is 78 years old; half are between 69 and 85.
The 2020 Census counted 41,868 people named Ethel (41,744 women and girls, 124 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 50,228 born in the U.S. The Census count is 17% 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 | 13,500 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 16,500 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 3,020 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 669 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 282 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 318 |
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 Ethel born?
The states with the most babies named Ethel are Pennsylvania, New York and North Carolina, with 21% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 16,133 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| New York | 14,475 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| North Carolina | 10,214 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| Alabama | 9,083 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Georgia | 8,856 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Texas | 8,393 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Mississippi | 8,189 | not ranked | 1.9× |
| Louisiana | 8,127 | not ranked | 1.9× |
| South Carolina | 7,714 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| Ohio | 7,598 | not ranked | 0.8× |
Where Ethel is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Ethel is most over-represented in Mississippi: since 1910 it was given 1.9 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 girls’ 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 Ethel 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 6 names spelled alike, given to 283,958 babies since 1880, Ethel is the most given (99% of them). In 2025 it was given to 34 of their 34 babies (100%), 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 Ethel
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 Ethel and names like it
- Compare Ethel and EthylBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sEthel peaked in 1918.
- Pennsylvania’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Ethel since 1910.
- Old English namesWiktionary’s origin for Ethel: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1918The year the most babies were named Ethel.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Ethel alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with EMost given first.