Eldwin
Derived from Old English name elements meaning "old friend".
Name Census estimates that about 48 living Americans carry the first name Eldwin. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Eldwin today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Eldwin births was 1917 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Eldwin. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Eldwin. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
48
~ 1 in 7,140,715 Americans
Peak year
1917
8 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
2012 SSA rank
#11,202
Tracked since 1915
Census
Eldwin in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 185 people with the first name Eldwin, which placed it at #40,305 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
#40,305
National first-name rank
People counted
185
185 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
35.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Eldwin
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eldwin is Hispanic at 35.7%. The next largest groups are White (22.2%) and Black (21.1%). 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 Eldwin 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 Eldwin at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino35.7% · 66
- White22.2% · 41
- Black or African American21.1% · 39
- Asian and Pacific Islander14.1% · 26
- Two or more races3.8% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.2% · 6
Popularity
Eldwin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Eldwin from the 1910s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 29 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Eldwin 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 Eldwin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Eldwin
The given name Eldwin is a relatively uncommon name of English origin, believed to have emerged during the medieval period. Its roots can be traced back to the Old English words "eal" meaning "all" and "wine" meaning "friend," suggesting that Eldwin was originally intended to convey the meaning of "all-friend" or "universal friend."
The earliest recorded instances of the name Eldwin date back to the 11th century, when it was primarily used among the Anglo-Saxon population in England. While its usage was modest, several notable individuals bore this name throughout history.
One of the earliest documented instances of the name Eldwin was in the Domesday Book, a manuscript record of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The book mentions an Eldwin of Northamptonshire, who held land in the village of Crick.
In the 12th century, an Eldwin of Stratford was noted as a prominent landowner and benefactor in the county of Warwickshire. Records indicate that he donated substantial parcels of land to the local church and monastery.
During the 13th century, an Eldwin de Arden was a notable figure in the county of Warwickshire, serving as a knight and landowner. Historical accounts suggest that he participated in several military campaigns alongside the English king at the time.
Moving into the 14th century, an Eldwin Chaucer was mentioned in the writings of the renowned English poet Geoffrey Chaucer, suggesting a distant familial connection. However, the exact nature of their relationship remains unclear.
In the 15th century, an Eldwin Fitzherbert was a respected jurist and legal scholar in England. He authored several influential treatises on English law and served as a judge during the reign of King Henry VII.
While the name Eldwin has fallen into relative obscurity in more recent times, its historical significance and unique etymology make it a fascinating example of an English name that has endured through the centuries, reflecting the cultural and linguistic influences that have shaped the English language over time.
People
Eldwin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Eldwin 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
Eldwin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Eldwin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 48 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Eldwin 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 7,140,715 US residents.
Is Eldwin a common name?
We classify Eldwin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 53.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 74 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Eldwin most popular?
The single biggest year for Eldwin was 1917, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Eldwin is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Eldwin in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 185 people with the name Eldwin, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #40,305 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 Eldwin 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 Eldwin?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Eldwin leans strongly male. 181 people counted with this name were male (98.9%), compared with 2 female bearers (1.1%). 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 Eldwin?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eldwin is Hispanic at 35.7%. The next largest groups are White (22.2%) and Black (21.1%). 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 Eldwin most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Eldwin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 35.7% (66 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 Eldwin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Eldwin a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Eldwin 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 Eldwin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Eldwin 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 Eldwin 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 Americans are named Eldwin?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Eldwin at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.