Ebonnie
A feminine diminutive of Ebony, of Old French origin meaning "black wood".
Name Census estimates that about 27 living Americans carry the first name Ebonnie. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ebonnie today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ebonnie births was 1990 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ebonnie. 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 Ebonnie with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ebonnie. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
27
~ 1 in 12,694,605 Americans
Peak year
1990
8 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
1993 SSA rank
#12,224
Tracked since 1990
Popularity
Ebonnie: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Ebonnie 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 Ebonnie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0 | 28 | 28 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Ebonnie
The name Ebonnie has its roots in the English language and is a modern variant of the name Ebony, which itself is derived from the Greek word "ebenos." Ebenos referred to a dark, precious wood that was highly valued in ancient times for its rich color and durability.
Ebony was originally used as a descriptive term for the wood's deep black hue, and it later transitioned into a given name, likely inspired by the beauty and desirability associated with the material. The earliest recorded use of Ebony as a personal name dates back to the late 16th century.
While the name Ebony has been in use for centuries, the variant spelling Ebonnie is a more recent development, emerging in the 20th century. It is believed to have been created as a feminine form of the name, distinguishing it from the traditional spelling while retaining the essence of its meaning.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Ebonnie was Ebonnie Rowe, an American singer and actress born in 1932. She was best known for her roles on Broadway and in television productions during the 1950s and 1960s.
Another notable figure with the name Ebonnie was Ebonnie Massey, an American tennis player born in 1958. She achieved recognition for her successful career on the professional tennis circuit in the 1970s and 1980s, reaching the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open in 1982.
In the literary world, Ebonnie Patterson was an American writer and poet born in 1943. She gained recognition for her works exploring themes of race, identity, and social justice, including her critically acclaimed poetry collection "Drift."
On the political stage, Ebonnie Hill was an American politician and activist born in 1954. She served as a member of the Missouri House of Representatives from 1993 to 2005 and was known for her advocacy work on issues related to education and civil rights.
Lastly, Ebonnie Rowe-Elliott was a British actress born in 1959. She had a successful career in television and film, appearing in popular series such as "Coronation Street" and "EastEnders," as well as several feature films throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
People
Ebonnie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ebonnie 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
Ebonnie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ebonnie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 27 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ebonnie 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 12,694,605 US residents.
Is Ebonnie a common name?
We classify Ebonnie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 44.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 28 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ebonnie most popular?
The single biggest year for Ebonnie was 1990, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ebonnie is about 35 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 Ebonnie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ebonnie a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ebonnie 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 Ebonnie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ebonnie 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 Ebonnie 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 common is the name Ebonnie?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.