How Many People Are Named Ebony?
An estimated 37,329 people in the United States have the first name Ebony. It is predominantly female (98.8%). The average bearer is 38 years old, and Ebony peaked in popularity in 1982 with 2,315 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Ebony as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Ebony paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Ebony is overwhelmingly female, 455 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Ebony has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1980s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
37,329
About 1 in 9,182 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Female
98.8% confidence
Average Age
38
years old
Peak Year
1982
2,315 births
Total Registered
39,430
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Ebony
Ebony is predominantly female (98.8%), though 455 male births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Ebony as a male name
Ranked #13,086 in 2008
5 male births in 2008
Peak: 1982 (36 births)
Ebony as a female name
Ranked #5,472 in 2024
23 female births in 2024
Peak: 1982 (2,279 births)
Ebony: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Ebony span from the 1950s to the 2020s, covering 8 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1980s, when 18,464 babies were registered. Ebony has declined significantly from its peak in the 1980s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Ebony by Decade
How has Ebony tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Ebony by State
Birth registrations for Ebony span all 40 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, California, Texas. The lowest are in Nebraska, Hawaii, West Virginia. On average, about 925 Ebonys were registered per state.
Ebony + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Ebony as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Ebony
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
Ebony: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ebony?
We estimate approximately 37,329 people named Ebony are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 9,182 Americans share this first name.
Is Ebony a common name?
Ebony is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 39,430 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Ebony most popular?
Ebony reached peak popularity in 1982, when 2,315 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Ebony is approximately 38 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Ebony a female name?
Ebony is predominantly female. 98.8% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Ebony Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Ebony Smith, Ebony Johnson, Ebony Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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