Recorded 1910–1962 Girls' name Peak 1920 396 births

Ethelda — girls' name

396 babies named Ethelda in U.S. Social Security records since 1910, with the highest year being 1920. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1910s811920s1981930s651940s411950s61960s5
1920s
Peak decade

50% of everyone ever named Ethelda was born in this single decade.

1920
Single peak year

37 babies were named Ethelda in 1920 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Ethelda

The Social Security Administration has registered 396 babies named Ethelda between 1910 and 1962, spanning 53 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a girl's name, Ethelda currently falls outside the top 1,000 girls' names for 1962. The name reached its historical peak in 1920, when 37 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Ethelda performed strongest in the 1920s, accumulating 198 births during that ten-year window. Across the 6 decades of recorded activity, Ethelda shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in Texas, which accounts for 10 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by . In total, SSA state-level files list Ethelda in 1 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Ethelda in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 396 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Ethelda at a glance

Last recorded 1962

Total births

396

Since 1910

53 years of records

Peak year

1920

37 births that year

Strongest decade: 1920s

Current rank

Unranked

Outside the modern top-1,000

As of 1962

Active since

1910

Recorded for 53 years

Last year on file: 1962

Ethelda popularity over time

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1962–1910

Last recorded 1962
Peak year (1920)
37
Annual births at peak — across 53 years of records
010203040 19621941193519291924191919131910 6

Ethelda by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1920s
Peak decade
1920s
198 births that decade — 50% of Ethelda's all-time total
1910s811920s1981930s651940s411950s61960s5

Ethelda by state

Where Ethelda concentrates geographically — total births since 1910

Geographically diffuse
Top 1 states by recorded births for the name Ethelda
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 Texas
10 2.5%
Texas share of Ethelda's total US births 2.5%

10 of 396 births nationwide.

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Ethelda?
396 babies have been named Ethelda since 1910. It was last recorded in 1962. The peak year was 1920 with 37 births.
When was Ethelda most popular?
Ethelda was most popular in the 1920s decade with 198 total births. The single peak year was 1920.
Where is Ethelda most popular?
The top states for the name Ethelda are Texas (10 births).
How long has the name Ethelda been used?
Ethelda has been recorded in Social Security data since 1910, spanning 53 years of data through 1962.
What names are similar to Ethelda?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Ethel, Ethelyn, Ethyl, Ethelene, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1910–1962 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.