Eboney
A feminine name derived from the French word for ebony, meaning "black wood".
Name Census estimates that about 708 living Americans carry the first name Eboney. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Eboney today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Eboney births was 1980 (46 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Eboney. 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 Eboney with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
708
~ 1 in 484,116 Americans
Peak year
1980
46 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2007 SSA rank
#11,067
Tracked since 1974
Census
Eboney in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 575 people with the first name Eboney, which placed it at #18,673 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
#18,673
National first-name rank
People counted
575
575 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
84.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Eboney
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eboney is Black at 84.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.4%) and White (4.3%). 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 Eboney 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 Eboney at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American84.9% · 488
- Two or more races5.4% · 31
- White4.3% · 25
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 25
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 2
Popularity
Eboney: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Eboney from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 347 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Eboney 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 Eboney during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Eboneys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Texas, New York, California recorded the most babies named Eboney, while Louisiana, Florida, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 14 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Eboney
The name Eboney is derived from the French word "ébène," which means "ebony," referring to the dark-colored hardwood. The name likely originated in medieval France or possibly from the French-speaking regions of the Caribbean or Africa during the colonial era.
The earliest recorded use of the name Eboney dates back to the late 19th century. One of the earliest known individuals with this name was Eboney Goins, an African American woman born in Mississippi in 1887. She later became a prominent educator and community leader in Chicago.
In the early 20th century, the name Eboney gained popularity among African American families, particularly in the Southern United States. It was often chosen to reflect the beauty and strength associated with the ebony wood, as well as a connection to African heritage.
One notable figure with the name Eboney was Eboney Smith, an American jazz singer and actress born in 1927 in New York City. She performed on Broadway and appeared in several films during the 1950s and 1960s.
Another prominent individual with this name was Eboney Jewell, an African American author and activist born in 1950 in Chicago. She wrote several books exploring themes of race, gender, and social justice, and was a vocal advocate for civil rights.
In the late 20th century, the name Eboney continued to be popular among African American families, though it was less commonly used than variations like Ebony or Eboni.
One example of a more recent individual with this name is Eboney Huddleston, an American basketball player born in 1978. She played professionally in the WNBA and overseas leagues and was known for her defensive skills.
While the name Eboney has its roots in French and African American history, it has also been adopted by families of various backgrounds around the world, particularly those seeking a unique and meaningful name with connections to nature and cultural heritage.
People
Eboney + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Eboney 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
Eboney: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Eboney?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 708 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Eboney 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 484,116 US residents.
Is Eboney a common name?
We classify Eboney as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 747 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Eboney most popular?
The single biggest year for Eboney was 1980, when 46 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Eboney is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Eboney in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 575 people with the name Eboney, or 0.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,673 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 Eboney 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 Eboney?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Eboney appears almost entirely female. Of the 568 people counted with this name, 99.5% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Eboney?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eboney is Black at 84.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.4%) and White (4.3%). 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 Eboney most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Eboney in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.9% (488 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 Eboney in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Eboney a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Eboney in the SSA data are female. 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 Eboney still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Eboney 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 Eboney 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 named Eboney?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.