Efrain
A name of Hebrew origin meaning "fruitful" or "bountiful".
Name Census estimates that about 17,139 living Americans carry the first name Efrain. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Efrain today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Efrain births was 1993 (405 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Efrain. 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
17K
~ 1 in 19,999 Americans
Peak year
1993
405 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,435
Tracked since 1920
Gender
Gender distribution for Efrain
Out of the 18,468 babies given the name Efrain since 1880, 99.8% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Efrain as a male name
- Ranked #1,435 in 2024
- 126 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1993 (405 births)
Efrain as a female name
- Ranked #11,241 in 1989
- 6 female births in 1989
- Peak: 1982 (7 births)
Popularity
Efrain: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Efrain from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 3,781 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Efrain 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 Efrain during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Efrains live
The SSA's state-level files cover 30 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Efrain, while South Carolina, Kansas, Arkansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 533 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Efrain
The name Efrain has its origins in the ancient Greek language, tracing back to the Biblical name "Ephraim". This name is derived from the Hebrew words "ephrath" meaning "fruitful" and "parah" meaning "to bear fruit". In the Old Testament, Ephraim was one of the sons of Joseph and the progenitor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel.
The earliest recorded use of the name Efrain can be found in the Book of Genesis, where Ephraim is mentioned as one of the two sons of Joseph and Asenath. The name gained popularity among early Christian communities, particularly in regions where Greek and Latin languages were widely spoken.
In the Middle Ages, the name Efrain was used by several notable individuals. One of the earliest recorded examples is Efrain the Grammarian, a 9th-century Byzantine scholar who made significant contributions to the study of Greek grammar and rhetoric.
During the Renaissance period, the name Efrain gained prominence among artists and intellectuals. Efrain de la Croix, a 16th-century Flemish painter, was renowned for his religious works and portraits of noblemen.
In the 19th century, Efrain Rios Montt, a Guatemalan military officer and politician who served as the de facto ruler of Guatemala from 1982 to 1983, was born in 1926 and lived until 2018.
Another notable figure with the name Efrain is Efrain Huerta, a Mexican poet and playwright born in 1914. His literary works explored themes of social injustice and the experiences of marginalized communities in Mexico.
In the field of sports, Efrain Chacurian, an Armenian-Mexican basketball player who represented Mexico in international competitions, was born in 1969 and played professionally until the early 2000s.
While the name Efrain has its roots in the ancient world, it continues to be used across various cultures and regions, particularly in Spanish-speaking countries, where it has maintained a strong presence throughout history.
People
Efrain + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Efrain 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
Efrain: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Efrain?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 17,139 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Efrain 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 19,999 US residents.
Is Efrain a common name?
We classify Efrain as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 18,468 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Efrain most popular?
The single biggest year for Efrain was 1993, when 405 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Efrain is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Efrain a male name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Efrain 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.
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.