Eder
A masculine name of Hebrew origin, meaning "flock" or "herd".
Name Census estimates that about 3,143 living Americans carry the first name Eder. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Eder today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Eder births was 2015 (143 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Eder. 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.
People living today
3.1K
~ 1 in 109,053 Americans
Peak year
2015
143 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,685
Tracked since 1982
Census
Eder in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,445 people with the first name Eder, which placed it at #4,275 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
#4,275
National first-name rank
People counted
4.4K
4,445 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
89.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Eder
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eder is Hispanic at 89.8%. The next largest groups are White (5.7%) and Black (3.4%). 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 Eder 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 Eder at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino89.8% · 3,993
- White5.7% · 253
- Black or African American3.4% · 152
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 28
- Two or more races0.2% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 8
Popularity
Eder: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Eder from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 989 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Eder remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Eder 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 Eder during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Eders live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. California, Texas, Illinois recorded the most babies named Eder, while Washington, Pennsylvania, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 129 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Eder
The name Eder has its origins in the Hebrew language, tracing back to ancient times. It is derived from the Hebrew word "Eder," which means "flock" or "herd." This name likely originated among pastoral communities in the Middle East, where shepherding was a significant part of their way of life.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Eder can be found in the Bible. In the Book of Genesis, there is a reference to a place called "Eder" or "Migdal-Eder," which means "Tower of the Flock." This was a location near Bethlehem where shepherds would gather with their flocks.
In the Hebrew Bible, there is also a character named Eder, mentioned in the Book of Joshua. He was one of the sons of Ephraim and a descendant of Joseph. While not much is known about this individual, his name serves as an early example of the use of Eder as a personal name.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Eder. One of the earliest recorded was Eder of Saxony, a German nobleman who lived in the 11th century. He was a prominent figure in the Holy Roman Empire and served as a count under the reign of Emperor Henry IV.
Another noteworthy bearer of the name was Eder López, a Spanish explorer and navigator who lived in the 16th century. He accompanied Ferdinand Magellan on his famous voyage around the world and played a crucial role in the expedition's success.
In the realm of literature, Eder Nolasco was a celebrated Brazilian poet and writer born in 1895. His works, which often explored themes of love and nature, were widely acclaimed during his lifetime and continue to be studied and appreciated today.
Eder Jofre, born in 1936, was a Brazilian professional boxer who held the WBC and WBA featherweight titles in the 1960s. He was known for his exceptional defensive skills and is considered one of the greatest featherweights in boxing history.
More recently, Eder Militão, born in 1998, is a Brazilian professional footballer who currently plays as a defender for Real Madrid. He has represented the Brazilian national team and is regarded as one of the most promising young talents in world football.
People
Eder + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Eder 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
Eder: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Eder?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,143 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Eder 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 109,053 US residents.
Is Eder a common name?
We classify Eder as "Rare". It ranks above 95.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,190 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Eder most popular?
The single biggest year for Eder was 2015, when 143 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Eder is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Eder in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,445 people with the name Eder, or 1.47 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,275 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 Eder 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 Eder?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Eder leans strongly male. 4,399 people counted with this name were male (99.0%), compared with 45 female bearers (1.0%). 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 Eder?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eder is Hispanic at 89.8%. The next largest groups are White (5.7%) and Black (3.4%). 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 Eder most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Eder in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.8% (3,993 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 Eder in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Eder a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Eder 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 Eder still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Eder 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 Eder 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 have the name Eder?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.