Einar
A traditionally masculine Scandinavian name of Old Norse origin meaning "lone warrior".
Name Census estimates that about 608 living Americans carry the first name Einar. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Einar today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Einar births was 1915 (60 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Einar. 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
608
~ 1 in 563,741 Americans
Peak year
1915
60 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,226
Tracked since 1893
Popularity
Einar: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Einar from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 351 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1910s peak, Einar remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Einar 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 Einar during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Einars live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. Minnesota, North Dakota, California recorded the most babies named Einar, while Michigan, Florida, Washington recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 26 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Einar
Einar is a masculine given name of Old Norse origin, derived from the elements "ein" meaning "lone" or "unique" and "arr" meaning "warrior" or "soldier." The name can be interpreted to mean "lone warrior" or "unique soldier." It is believed to have originated among the ancient Norse and Germanic tribes, who inhabited the Scandinavian regions of Europe, particularly Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.
The earliest known recorded use of the name Einar dates back to the Viking Age, around the 8th to 11th centuries. It is mentioned in various Old Norse sagas and literary works, such as the Icelandic Sagas and the Poetic Edda. These ancient texts often portrayed Einar as a strong and valiant warrior, reflecting the name's meaning.
One of the most notable historical figures bearing the name Einar was Einar Thambarskelfir (c. 920-990), a Norwegian chieftain and warrior who played a significant role in the unification of Norway under King Harald Fairhair. Einar was also the name of several Icelandic poets and skalds from the medieval period, including Einar Gilsson (c. 1235-1319) and Einar Haflidason (c. 1295-1359).
During the Middle Ages, the name Einar spread beyond Scandinavia and was adopted in other parts of Europe. One prominent example is Einar Munksgaard (c. 1338-1408), a Danish scholar and theologian who served as the Bishop of Viborg in Denmark.
In more recent history, Einar Jónsson (1874-1954) was a renowned Icelandic sculptor and artist, known for his monumental sculptures and contributions to the Icelandic art scene. Another notable figure was Einar Gerhardsen (1897-1987), a Norwegian politician who served as the Prime Minister of Norway from 1951 to 1955 and again from 1963 to 1965.
Other historical figures bearing the name Einar include Einar Benediktsson (1864-1940), an Icelandic poet and writer; Einar Jansen (1892-1987), a Norwegian painter and illustrator; and Einar Övergaard (1902-1946), a Swedish actor and film director.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Einar
People
Einar + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Einar 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
Einar: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Einar?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 608 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Einar 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 563,741 US residents.
Is Einar a common name?
We classify Einar as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,516 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Einar most popular?
The single biggest year for Einar was 1915, when 60 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Einar is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Einar a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Einar 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.