Ebbe
A masculine name of Scandinavian origin meaning "the ebb of the tide".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Ebbe. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ebbe today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ebbe births was 1918 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ebbe. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Ebbe with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ebbe. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1918
5 babies that year
Average age
-
1918 SSA rank
#4,344
Tracked since 1918
Popularity
Ebbe: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Ebbe 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 Ebbe 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 Ebbe
The name Ebbe is of Germanic origin, derived from the Old Norse word "ebbi," which means "ebb tide." It is believed to have first appeared in the Viking Age, around the 8th to 11th centuries, when the Vikings were actively exploring and settling in various regions of Europe and beyond.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ebbe can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, which were written in the 13th and 14th centuries. These sagas chronicled the lives and adventures of notable Icelanders and Norse settlers, and the name Ebbe was mentioned in some of these texts.
In the medieval period, the name Ebbe was particularly prevalent in Scandinavia, especially in Denmark and Sweden. It was often given to boys born near the sea or in coastal regions, as a nod to the maritime heritage of the Vikings and the ebb and flow of the tides.
One notable historical figure with the name Ebbe was Ebbe Skammelsen, a Danish nobleman and military commander who lived in the 13th century. He played a significant role in the Danish conquest of Estonia and was known for his bravery and strategic abilities.
Another famous bearer of the name was Ebbe Munck, a Danish admiral and naval hero who lived in the 17th century (1619-1688). He is celebrated for his victories against the Swedish navy during the Dano-Swedish War of 1658-1660.
In the 19th century, the name Ebbe gained popularity in Germany, particularly in northern regions with close ties to Scandinavia. One notable German with this name was Ebbe Stub Wittmack (1839-1910), a prominent botanist and agricultural scientist who made important contributions to the study of plant diseases and crop improvement.
The name Ebbe was also found in other parts of Europe, though less commonly. One example is Ebbe Parsner (1908-1969), a Swedish-born artist and sculptor who lived and worked in France for much of his life.
Throughout its history, the name Ebbe has been associated with the sea, coastal regions, and maritime traditions. Its Old Norse roots and appearance in ancient Scandinavian texts have contributed to its enduring cultural significance, particularly in northern Europe.
People
Ebbe + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ebbe 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
Ebbe: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ebbe?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ebbe 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 Ebbe a common name?
We classify Ebbe 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 Ebbe most popular?
The single biggest year for Ebbe was 1918, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ebbe is about 0 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Ebbe in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ebbe a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ebbe 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 Ebbe still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ebbe 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 Ebbe 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Ebbe?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.