Erline
An inventive feminine name possibly inspired by the Old English "erlene" meaning "meadowlark".
Name Census estimates that about 283 living Americans carry the first name Erline. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Erline today is around 74 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Erline births was 1927 (72 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Erline. 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 Erline is about 74 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Erlines were born before 1962.
People living today
283
~ 1 in 1,211,146 Americans
Peak year
1927
72 babies that year
Average age
74
years old
2005 SSA rank
#17,301
Tracked since 1897
Census
Erline in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 775 people with the first name Erline, which placed it at #14,981 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
#14,981
National first-name rank
People counted
775
775 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
47.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Erline
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Erline is Black at 47.4%. The next largest groups are White (39.0%) and Hispanic (6.5%). 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 Erline 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 Erline at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American47.4% · 367
- White39.0% · 302
- Hispanic or Latino6.5% · 50
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.7% · 29
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.1% · 16
- Two or more races1.4% · 11
Popularity
Erline: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Erline from the 1890s through to the 2000s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 556 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Erline 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 Erline during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Erlines live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. South Carolina, Alabama, Texas recorded the most babies named Erline, while Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 34 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Erline
The given name Erline has its origins in the Germanic languages, derived from the Old High German name Erlinda or Erlint. It is a compound name composed of the elements "hari" meaning army and "lind" meaning tender or soft. Essentially, the name means "tender warrior" or "gentle fighter."
This name first appeared in written records during the medieval period, particularly in regions where Germanic tribes settled, such as present-day Germany, Austria, and parts of Switzerland. It was a popular name among the nobility and upper classes during this time.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Erline can be found in the Codex Traditionum Monasterii Sancti Emmerami, a medieval cartulary from the Benedictine monastery of St. Emmeram in Regensburg, Germany, dated around the 9th century.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Erline. One such person was Erline von Grünenberg (1350-1420), a German noblewoman and landowner from the Swabian region of Germany. She was known for her philanthropic work and patronage of the arts.
Another notable Erline was Erline von Reitzenstein (1490-1560), a German abbess who served as the leader of the Benedictine convent of Niedermünster in Regensburg from 1529 until her death. She played a significant role in the religious and cultural life of the city during the Reformation period.
In the 16th century, Erline von Württemberg (1545-1618) was a German princess and member of the House of Württemberg. She was known for her involvement in court politics and her patronage of the arts and culture.
Moving to more recent times, Erline von Grüningen (1884-1962) was a Swiss poet and author who gained recognition for her lyrical works and contributions to the German literary scene of the early 20th century.
Another notable figure was Erline Klinger (1909-1982), a German artist and sculptor. She was part of the avant-garde art movement in Germany and is known for her abstract and modernist sculptures and installations.
While the name Erline was more prevalent in historical times, particularly in Germanic regions, it has become less common in modern times. However, its rich linguistic heritage and association with notable figures throughout history have preserved its significance as a unique and meaningful given name.
People
Erline + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Erline 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
Erline: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Erline?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 283 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Erline 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 1,211,146 US residents.
Is Erline a common name?
We classify Erline as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,640 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Erline most popular?
The single biggest year for Erline was 1927, when 72 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Erline is about 74 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Erline in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 775 people with the name Erline, or 0.26 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,981 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 Erline 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 Erline?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Erline appears almost entirely female. Of the 772 people counted with this name, 99.5% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Erline?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Erline is Black at 47.4%. The next largest groups are White (39.0%) and Hispanic (6.5%). 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 Erline most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Erline in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.4% (367 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 Erline in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Erline a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Erline 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 Erline still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Erline 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 Erline 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 common is the name Erline?
See how many Americans are named Erline on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.