Eh
A Western interjection used to convey surprise or seek confirmation.
Name Census estimates that about 688 living Americans carry the first name Eh. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 60.8% of registrations being male. The average person named Eh today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Eh births was 2014 (71 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Eh. 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
688
~ 1 in 498,189 Americans
Peak year
2014
71 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,237
Tracked since 2007
Census
Eh in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,939 people with the first name Eh, which placed it at #4,648 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
#4,648
National first-name rank
People counted
3.9K
3,939 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
97.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Eh
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eh is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.9%. The next largest groups are White (1.0%) and Hispanic (0.5%). 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 Eh 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 Eh at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander97.9% · 3,855
- White1.0% · 39
- Hispanic or Latino0.5% · 19
- Two or more races0.4% · 14
- Black or African American0.3% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Eh
Eh is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 693 total registrations, 421 (60.8%) were male and 272 (39.2%) were female.
Eh as a male name
- Ranked #6,237 in 2024
- 14 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2014 (43 births)
Eh as a female name
- Ranked #15,892 in 2024
- 5 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2016 (31 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Eh on both sides of the split. Of the 3,941 people counted with this name, 2,323 were male (58.9%) and 1,618 were female (41.1%).
Popularity
Eh: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Eh from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 518 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Eh 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 Eh during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ehs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Minnesota, Nebraska, New York recorded the most babies named Eh, while Georgia, Texas, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 33 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Eh
The given name Eh is a curious one, with its origins shrouded in mystery and obscurity. Some scholars suggest it may have roots in ancient Sumerian or Akkadian languages, where certain guttural sounds resembling "eh" were commonly used for exclamations or expressions of surprise. However, concrete evidence of its derivation remains elusive.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Eh can be found in the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, where a minor deity or spirit guide is referred to as "Eh-hotep." This figure's role was to assist souls in navigating the treacherous underworld, and the name Eh-hotep may have been a invocation for guidance or a request for safe passage.
In medieval Europe, the name Eh appeared sporadically in various monastic records and chronicles, often as a shortened form or nickname for individuals with longer, more ornate names. For instance, in the 9th century, a Frankish monk known as Ehinhard (or Einhard) was a renowned scholar and biographer of the Emperor Charlemagne.
During the Renaissance period, the name Eh gained some prominence among certain intellectual circles, perhaps as a nod to its ancient origins or as a quirky affectation. One notable bearer was Eh Machiavelli, a distant cousin of the famous political philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli, who authored several treatises on art and architecture in 16th century Italy.
In the 18th century, a French mathematician and astronomer named Eh Lalande made significant contributions to the study of planetary motion and the calculation of orbits. His work laid the foundation for future advancements in celestial mechanics and space exploration.
More recently, in the early 20th century, a British explorer and adventurer known as Eh Shackleton gained fame for his daring Antarctic expeditions and his remarkable leadership in the face of adversity. Despite numerous setbacks and harrowing experiences, Shackleton's resilience and determination inspired generations of explorers and adventurers to come.
While the name Eh may have had humble and obscure beginnings, its unique and intriguing sound has captured the imagination of individuals throughout history, lending an air of curiosity and intrigue to those who have borne it.
People
Eh + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Eh 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
Eh: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Eh?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 688 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Eh 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 498,189 US residents.
Is Eh a common name?
We classify Eh as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 693 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Eh most popular?
The single biggest year for Eh was 2014, when 71 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Eh is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Eh in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,939 people with the name Eh, or 1.30 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,648 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 Eh 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 Eh?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Eh on both sides of the split. Of the 3,941 people counted with this name, 2,323 were male (58.9%) and 1,618 were female (41.1%). 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 Eh?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eh is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.9%. The next largest groups are White (1.0%) and Hispanic (0.5%). 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 Eh most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Eh in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.9% (3,855 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 Eh in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Eh a male name?
Yes, 60.8% of people registered as Eh 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 Eh still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Eh 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 Eh 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 Eh as a first name?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Eh at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.