Eithel
A feminine name of obscure origin, possibly derived from Hebrew meaning "plentiful".
Name Census estimates that about 3 living Americans carry the first name Eithel. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Eithel today is around 90 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Eithel births was 1915 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Eithel. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Eithel is about 90 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Eithels were born before 1946.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Eithel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
3
~ 1 in 114,251,446 Americans
Peak year
1915
14 babies that year
Average age
90
years old
1931 SSA rank
#4,005
Tracked since 1894
Popularity
Eithel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Eithel from the 1890s through to the 1930s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 76 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Eithel 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 Eithel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Eithels live
Origin
Meaning and history of Eithel
The name Eithel is of ancient Germanic origin, derived from the Old English words "ead" meaning prosperity or fortune, and "hild" meaning battle or war. It was a popular name among the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain during the 5th to 11th centuries.
Eithel first appeared in written records as early as the 7th century, with references to an Anglo-Saxon warrior named Eithel the Brave, who fought alongside King Oswald of Northumbria in the Battle of Maserfield in 642 AD. This battle marked a significant turning point in the struggle between the pagan Anglo-Saxons and the newly-arrived Christian missionaries.
During the Middle Ages, the name Eithel was particularly common among the nobility and ruling classes of England. One notable bearer of this name was Eithel of Mercia, a powerful noblewoman who lived in the 9th century and was known for her patronage of religious institutions and her influence in the court of King Offa of Mercia.
In the 11th century, the name Eithel gained further prominence with the birth of Eithel of Wessex, a direct descendant of King Alfred the Great. Eithel of Wessex was a renowned scholar and ecclesiastical figure who played a crucial role in the establishment of several monasteries and the preservation of ancient manuscripts.
Another significant figure bearing the name Eithel was Eithel the Scribe, a 12th-century monk and calligrapher from the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, England. Eithel was renowned for his exquisite penmanship and his contributions to the production of illuminated manuscripts, which were highly prized works of art during the medieval period.
Throughout the centuries, the name Eithel has maintained a strong presence in literature and historical records, albeit with varying spellings such as Ethel, Eidil, and Aethel. However, its usage declined significantly after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, as many traditional Anglo-Saxon names were replaced by French and Norman variants.
People
Eithel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Eithel 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
Eithel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Eithel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Eithel 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 114,251,446 US residents.
Is Eithel a common name?
We classify Eithel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 4.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 182 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Eithel most popular?
The single biggest year for Eithel was 1915, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Eithel is about 90 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 Eithel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Eithel a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Eithel 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 Eithel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Eithel 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 Eithel 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 many people are named Eithel?
Want to know how many people share the name Eithel? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.