Ebben
A name of uncertain origin and meaning, potentially related to words for "rock" or "stone" in various languages.
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Ebben. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ebben today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ebben births was 2012 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ebben. 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 Ebben with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ebben. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2012
5 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2012 SSA rank
#12,802
Tracked since 2012
Popularity
Ebben: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Ebben 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 Ebben during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Ebben
The name Ebben is a variant spelling of the Hebrew name Ebenezer, which means "stone of help" or "stone of aid." Its origins can be traced back to the Old Testament, where it was first mentioned in the book of 1 Samuel. According to the biblical account, the Israelites set up a stone and named it Ebenezer after a victory over the Philistines, as a way to commemorate God's assistance in the battle.
In ancient times, the name Ebenezer was occasionally used by Jewish families, but it gained more widespread popularity among Puritan settlers in the 17th and 18th centuries. They favored biblical names, and the symbolic meaning of "stone of help" resonated with their religious beliefs and the challenges they faced in establishing new communities.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name Ebben was Ebben Ezra, a Jewish scholar and philosopher born in Spain around 1092. He is known for his contributions to the fields of astronomy, mathematics, and linguistics, and for his works that aimed to reconcile Jewish theology with Aristotelian philosophy.
Another notable figure was Ebben Symonds, an English clergyman born in 1617. He served as a pastor in Wiltshire and was a proponent of the Puritan movement, advocating for a more simple and scriptural form of worship within the Church of England.
In the 19th century, Ebben Erskine was a Scottish minister and theologian born in 1818. He played a significant role in the Disruption of 1843, which led to the formation of the Free Church of Scotland, and was known for his passionate preaching and defense of Presbyterian principles.
Moving to the 20th century, Ebben Byers was an American architect born in 1903. He is best known for designing the iconic Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, which opened in 1935 and remains a popular destination for astronomy enthusiasts and tourists.
Lastly, Ebben Pagan was a Puerto Rican author and playwright born in 1937. His works often explored themes of identity, social justice, and the Puerto Rican experience, and he was a prominent figure in the Nuyorican literary movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
While the name Ebben is not as common today as it once was, it remains a testament to the enduring influence of biblical names and the historical significance they hold across various cultures and time periods.
People
Ebben + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ebben 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
Ebben: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ebben?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ebben 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Ebben a common name?
We classify Ebben as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% 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 Ebben most popular?
The single biggest year for Ebben was 2012, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ebben is about 14 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 Ebben in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ebben a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ebben 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 Ebben still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ebben 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 Ebben 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 Ebben?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.