Eb
A diminutive form of Ebenezer, derived from Hebrew meaning "stone of help".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Eb. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Eb today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Eb births was 1919 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Eb. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Eb. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1919
5 babies that year
Average age
-
1919 SSA rank
#4,331
Tracked since 1919
Census
Eb in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 263 people with the first name Eb, which placed it at #32,158 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#32,158
National first-name rank
People counted
263
263 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
47.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Eb
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eb is White at 47.1%. The next largest groups are Black (24.7%) and Hispanic (16.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Eb described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Eb at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White47.1% · 124
- Black or African American24.7% · 65
- Hispanic or Latino16.3% · 43
- Asian and Pacific Islander8.4% · 22
- Two or more races3.4% · 9
Popularity
Eb: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Eb 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 Eb during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Eb
The given name Eb is believed to have originated from the Old English language, dating back to the 5th century AD. It is thought to be a shortened form of the name Ebba, which was derived from the Old English word "eofor," meaning "boar" or "wild pig." This name was relatively common among the Anglo-Saxon tribes that inhabited parts of modern-day England and northern Europe.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Eb can be found in the Ecclesiastical History of the English People, written by the Venerable Bede in the 8th century. The text mentions an abbess named Ebba, who founded a monastery in the Kingdom of Northumbria in the 7th century.
In the Middle Ages, the name Eb was occasionally used by both men and women, although it was more commonly given to men. One notable figure bearing this name was Eb of Bamberg, a German cleric who lived in the 11th century and served as the Bishop of Bamberg from 1057 until his death in 1088.
During the Renaissance period, the name Eb experienced a resurgence in popularity, particularly in England and other parts of northern Europe. One of the most famous individuals with this name was Eb Gau, a Dutch painter and engraver who lived from 1598 to 1637 and was known for his intricate etchings and engravings depicting biblical scenes and landscapes.
In the 17th century, Eb Ezekiel Sandys was an English writer and theologian who served as the Bishop of York from 1619 until his death in 1642. He was a prominent figure in the Church of England and played a significant role in the translation of the King James Version of the Bible.
Another notable individual named Eb was Eb Thayer, an American inventor and engineer who lived from 1857 to 1932. He is best known for his contributions to the development of the electric motor and his work in the field of electrical engineering.
While the name Eb has become relatively uncommon in modern times, it has a rich historical heritage that spans several centuries and cultures. Its connection to the Old English language and its appearance in various historical records and texts make it a unique and fascinating name with deep roots in the annals of history.
People
Eb + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Eb 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
Eb: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Eb?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Eb 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 - US residents.
Is Eb a common name?
We classify Eb as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Eb most popular?
The single biggest year for Eb was 1919, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Eb is about 0 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Eb in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 263 people with the name Eb, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,158 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Eb in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Eb?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Eb on both sides of the split. Of the 255 people counted with this name, 156 were male (61.2%) and 99 were female (38.8%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Eb?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eb is White at 47.1%. The next largest groups are Black (24.7%) and Hispanic (16.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Eb most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Eb in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.1% (124 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Eb in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Eb a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Eb 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.
Is Eb still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Eb in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Eb can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people are called Eb?
Want to know how many Americans are named Eb? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.