How Many People Are Named Ethelda?
An estimated 40 people in the United States have the first name Ethelda. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 84 years old, and Ethelda peaked in popularity in 1920 with 37 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Ethelda 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 Ethelda paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- With an average bearer age of 84, Ethelda is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1952.
- Ethelda is exceptionally rare. Fewer than 100 people with this name are estimated to be alive in the U.S. today.
Estimated Living Americans
40
About 1 in 8,568,858 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Rare
Predicted Gender
Female
100.0% confidence
Average Age
84
years old
Peak Year
1920
37 births
Total Registered
396
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Ethelda
Ethelda is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 396 total births registered, 100.0% were female.
Ethelda as a female name
Ranked #6,872 in 1962
5 female births in 1962
Peak: 1920 (37 births)
Ethelda: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Ethelda span from the 1910s to the 1960s, covering 6 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 198 babies were registered. Ethelda has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Ethelda by Decade
How has Ethelda 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.
Ethelda by State
Ethelda + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Ethelda as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Ethelda
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
Ethelda: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ethelda?
We estimate approximately 40 people named Ethelda 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 8,568,858 Americans share this first name.
Is Ethelda a common name?
Ethelda is classified as "Very Rare" and is more popular than 51% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 396 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Ethelda most popular?
Ethelda reached peak popularity in 1920, when 37 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Ethelda is approximately 84 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Ethelda a female name?
Ethelda is predominantly female. 100.0% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Ethelda Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Ethelda Smith, Ethelda Johnson, Ethelda 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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