How Many People Are Named Ethel?
An estimated 31,037 people in the United States have the first name Ethel. It is predominantly female (99.5%). The average bearer is 77 years old, and Ethel peaked in popularity in 1918 with 8,110 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Ethel 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 Ethel paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Ethel is overwhelmingly female, 1,490 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- With an average bearer age of 77, Ethel is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1959.
- Ethel has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1910s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
31,037
About 1 in 11,043 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Female
99.5% confidence
Average Age
77
years old
Peak Year
1918
8,110 births
Total Registered
280,380
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Ethel
Ethel is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 280,380 total births registered, 99.5% were female.
Ethel as a male name
Ranked #4,319 in 1968
5 male births in 1968
Peak: 1928 (48 births)
Ethel as a female name
Ranked #4,915 in 2024
27 female births in 2024
Peak: 1918 (8,075 births)
Ethel: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Ethel span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1910s, when 63,949 babies were registered. Ethel has declined significantly from its peak in the 1910s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Ethel by Decade
How has Ethel 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.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 14,939 | 73 | 14,866 | |
| 1890s | 31,593 | 140 | 31,453 | |
| 1900s | 35,049 | 181 | 34,868 | |
| 1910s | 63,949 | 287 | 63,662 | |
| 1920s | 63,144 | 338 | 62,806 | |
| 1930s | 31,861 | 279 | 31,582 | |
| 1940s | 20,688 | 106 | 20,582 | |
| 1950s | 11,602 | 56 | 11,546 | |
| 1960s | 4,720 | 30 | 4,690 | |
| 1970s | 1,499 | 0 | 1,499 | |
| 1980s | 547 | 0 | 547 | |
| 1990s | 273 | 0 | 273 | |
| 2000s | 187 | 0 | 187 | |
| 2010s | 198 | 0 | 198 | |
| 2020s | 131 | 0 | 131 | |
Ethel by State
Birth registrations for Ethel span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Pennsylvania, New York, North Carolina. The lowest are in Nevada, Alaska, Wyoming. On average, about 3,829 Ethels were registered per state.
Ethel + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Ethel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Ethel
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
Ethel: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ethel?
We estimate approximately 31,037 people named Ethel 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 11,043 Americans share this first name.
Is Ethel a common name?
Ethel is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 98.8% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 280,380 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Ethel most popular?
Ethel reached peak popularity in 1918, when 8,110 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Ethel is approximately 77 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Ethel a female name?
Ethel is predominantly female. 99.5% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Ethel Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Ethel Smith, Ethel Johnson, Ethel 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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