Ermine
A feminine name derived from the Old French term for a small weasel-like mammal.
Name Census estimates that about 38 living Americans carry the first name Ermine. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 88.6% of registrations being female. The average person named Ermine today is around 86 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ermine births was 1917 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ermine. 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 Ermine is about 86 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Ermines were born before 1950.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ermine. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
38
~ 1 in 9,019,851 Americans
Peak year
1917
29 babies that year
Average age
86
years old
1957 SSA rank
#4,163
Tracked since 1883
Census
Ermine in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 319 people with the first name Ermine, which placed it at #28,252 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
#28,252
National first-name rank
People counted
319
319 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
53.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ermine
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ermine is Black at 53.0%. The next largest groups are White (37.6%) and Hispanic (4.1%). 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 Ermine 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 Ermine at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American53.0% · 169
- White37.6% · 120
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.4% · 11
- Two or more races1.9% · 6
Gender
Gender distribution for Ermine
Ermine leans heavily female at 88.6% of total registrations, but 67 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Ermine as a male name
- Ranked #4,163 in 1957
- 5 male births in 1957
- Peak: 1917 (7 births)
Ermine as a female name
- Ranked #5,199 in 1959
- 7 female births in 1959
- Peak: 1917 (22 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ermine leans strongly female. 283 people counted with this name were female (88.4%), compared with 37 male bearers (11.6%).
Popularity
Ermine: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ermine from the 1880s through to the 1950s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 177 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
Ermine 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 Ermine during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ermines live
Origin
Meaning and history of Ermine
The name Ermine finds its origins in the Old French word "ermine," derived from the Latin "mus Armenius," meaning "Armenian mouse." This name initially referred to the stoat, a small weasel-like mammal prized for its luxurious white fur. The association with royalty and luxury dates back to the Middle Ages when ermine fur adorned the robes and cloaks of nobility.
In the 12th century, the name Ermine surfaced as a given name, likely inspired by the animal's symbolic connection to wealth and prestige. Ermine was predominantly used in France and other regions influenced by French culture during this period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ermine can be found in the annals of the Frankish Empire. Ermine of Arles, a Frankish noblewoman born around 775 AD, was known for her piety and charitable works. She founded several monasteries and played a significant role in the religious and cultural life of her time.
In the 13th century, Ermine de Reims, a French philosopher and theologian, made valuable contributions to the intellectual discourse of the era. Her writings on logic and metaphysics were widely studied and debated in academic circles.
During the Renaissance, Ermine Bertrand (1492-1562), a French botanist and physician, gained recognition for his groundbreaking work on plant classification. His exhaustive cataloging of plant species laid the foundation for modern botanical taxonomy.
In the realm of literature, Ermine Desbordes-Valmore (1786-1859), a French poet and playwright, left an indelible mark on the Romantic era. Her poetic works, infused with emotion and introspection, earned her critical acclaim and a place among the most celebrated French writers of the 19th century.
Another notable figure was Ermine Lacaux (1892-1977), a French politician and diplomat. She played a pivotal role in shaping post-World War II international relations and was instrumental in the establishment of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
While the name Ermine may have been overshadowed by more common names in recent times, its historical significance and connection to luxury, nobility, and intellectual pursuits remain an intriguing aspect of its legacy.
People
Ermine + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ermine 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
Ermine: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ermine?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 38 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ermine 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 9,019,851 US residents.
Is Ermine a common name?
We classify Ermine as "Very Rare". It ranks above 50.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 589 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ermine most popular?
The single biggest year for Ermine was 1917, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ermine is about 86 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ermine in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 319 people with the name Ermine, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,252 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 Ermine 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 Ermine?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ermine leans strongly female. 283 people counted with this name were female (88.4%), compared with 37 male bearers (11.6%). 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 Ermine?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ermine is Black at 53.0%. The next largest groups are White (37.6%) and Hispanic (4.1%). 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 Ermine most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Ermine in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.0% (169 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 Ermine in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ermine a female name?
Yes, 88.6% of people registered as Ermine 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 Ermine still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ermine 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 Ermine 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 share the name Ermine?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.