Erling
A Germanic masculine name derived from the Old Norse elements "arn" (eagle) and "lind" (serpent/linden tree).
Name Census estimates that about 405 living Americans carry the first name Erling. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Erling today is around 51 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Erling births was 2023 (54 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Erling. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Erling with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
405
~ 1 in 846,307 Americans
Peak year
2023
54 babies that year
Average age
51
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,915
Tracked since 1908
Census
Erling in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 556 people with the first name Erling, which placed it at #19,177 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
#19,177
National first-name rank
People counted
556
556 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
76.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Erling
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Erling is White at 76.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.9%). 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 Erling 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 Erling at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.3% · 424
- Hispanic or Latino17.1% · 95
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.9% · 16
- Black or African American2.2% · 12
- Two or more races1.1% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 3
Popularity
Erling: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Erling from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 365 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Erling remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Erling 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 Erling during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Erlings live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin recorded the most babies named Erling, while Tennessee, Iowa, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 53 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Erling
The name Erling has its origins in Old Norse, the language spoken by the Scandinavian people during the Viking Age and medieval period. It is derived from the Old Norse elements "arn," meaning eagle, and "linn," meaning serpent or dragon. Thus, the name Erling can be interpreted to mean "eagle-serpent" or "eagle-dragon."
In Norse mythology, the eagle and the serpent or dragon were powerful symbols, often associated with strength, courage, and wisdom. This suggests that the name Erling may have been bestowed upon individuals who were considered brave, fierce warriors or leaders.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Erling can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of stories and legends that provide insights into the lives and traditions of the Norse people. The Sagas mention several individuals named Erling, including Erling Skjalgsson, a powerful chieftain and viking who lived in the late 10th century.
Throughout history, there have been several notable figures who bore the name Erling. One of the most famous was Erling Vidkunsson (c. 1115-1179), a Norwegian nobleman and military commander who played a significant role in the civil wars that plagued Norway during the 12th century. He was known as Erling Skakke (Erling the Twisted) due to his cunning and resourcefulness.
Another prominent Erling was Erling Eriksson (c. 1290-1355), a Norwegian nobleman and military leader who served as the Earl of Orkney and Shetland from 1326 to 1355. He was involved in numerous conflicts with the Scottish and English crowns over control of the Northern Isles.
In more recent times, Erling Kagge (born 1963) is a Norwegian explorer, author, and publisher who became the first person to reach the North Pole unsupported after a solo expedition in 1993.
Erling Haaland (born 2000) is a Norwegian professional soccer player who currently plays as a striker for Manchester City and the Norwegian national team. He is considered one of the most promising young talents in world football.
Despite its Norse origins, the name Erling has been used across Scandinavia and other parts of the world, though it remains most popular in Norway and other Nordic countries.
People
Erling + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Erling 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
Erling: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Erling?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 405 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Erling 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 846,307 US residents.
Is Erling a common name?
We classify Erling as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,378 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Erling most popular?
The single biggest year for Erling was 2023, when 54 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Erling is about 51 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Erling in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 556 people with the name Erling, or 0.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,177 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 Erling 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 Erling?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Erling leans strongly male. 520 people counted with this name were male (94.5%), compared with 30 female bearers (5.5%). 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 Erling?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Erling is White at 76.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.9%). 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 Erling most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Erling in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.3% (424 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 Erling in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Erling a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Erling 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 Erling still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Erling 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 Erling 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 are named Erling?
Want to know how many people have the name Erling? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.