Earlie
A masculine name derived from the Old English word "earle" meaning "nobleman" or "warrior".
Name Census estimates that about 988 living Americans carry the first name Earlie. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 63.0% of registrations being male. The average person named Earlie today is around 74 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Earlie births was 1922 (93 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Earlie. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Earlie sits in rare territory as a truly gender-neutral name, given to boys and girls in near-equal numbers.
- • The typical person named Earlie is about 74 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Earlies were born before 1962.
People living today
988
~ 1 in 346,917 Americans
Peak year
1922
93 babies that year
Average age
74
years old
1991 SSA rank
#6,872
Tracked since 1883
Gender
Gender distribution for Earlie
Earlie is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 3,592 total registrations, 2,263 (63.0%) were male and 1,329 (37.0%) were female.
Earlie as a male name
- Ranked #7,545 in 1991
- 6 male births in 1991
- Peak: 1922 (60 births)
Earlie as a female name
- Ranked #6,872 in 1963
- 5 female births in 1963
- Peak: 1947 (39 births)
Popularity
Earlie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Earlie from the 1880s through to the 1990s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 771 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Earlie by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Earlie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Earlies live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. Alabama, North Carolina, Mississippi recorded the most babies named Earlie, while Tennessee, South Carolina, Virginia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 140 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Earlie
The name Earlie traces its origins back to the Old English language, with roots in the Anglo-Saxon era of Britain. It is derived from the Old English word "ærlic," which means "early" or "timely." This suggests that the name may have been given to a child born at an early hour or perhaps in the early part of the year.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Earlie can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land ownership and taxation commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. Here, the name is listed as "Ærlīc," referring to a landowner in the county of Somerset.
In the 12th century, the name appears in the Peterborough Chronicle, an important historical record of events in England during that period. The chronicle mentions an individual named "Earlīc" who was involved in a dispute over land rights.
Earlie was a relatively uncommon name throughout the Middle Ages, but it did have a few notable bearers. One such individual was Earlie of Malmesbury, a Benedictine monk who lived in the late 11th century and was known for his scholarly works on astronomy and mathematics.
During the Renaissance period, the name gained some popularity among the English gentry. In 1542, a man named Earlie Devereux was born into a prominent noble family and later served as a courtier under Elizabeth I.
Another historically significant figure with the name Earlie was Earlie Halkett, a Scottish military officer who fought in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms during the 17th century. He was born in 1615 and is remembered for his loyalty to the Royalist cause during the English Civil War.
In the 18th century, the name Earlie appeared in literary works, such as the novel "The Vicar of Wakefield" by Oliver Goldsmith, where a character named Earlie Primrose is mentioned.
One of the most notable individuals with the name Earlie was Earlie P. T. Wilkins, an African American educator and civil rights activist who lived from 1878 to 1964. He played a crucial role in desegregating schools in Virginia and was a prominent figure in the NAACP.
While the name Earlie has fallen out of common use in modern times, its historical significance and unique etymology serve as a reminder of the rich tapestry of names and their origins across different cultures and time periods.
People
Earlie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Earlie as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Earlie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Earlie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 988 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Earlie going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 346,917 US residents.
Is Earlie a common name?
We classify Earlie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 90% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,592 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Earlie most popular?
The single biggest year for Earlie was 1922, when 93 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Earlie is about 74 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Earlie a male name?
Yes, 63.0% of people registered as Earlie in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.