Ermis
A masculine name of Greek origin meaning "messenger of the gods".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Ermis. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ermis today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ermis births was 2015 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ermis. 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 Ermis with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ermis. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2015
5 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2015 SSA rank
#12,638
Tracked since 2015
Census
Ermis in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 214 people with the first name Ermis, which placed it at #36,840 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
#36,840
National first-name rank
People counted
214
214 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
83.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ermis
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ermis is Hispanic at 83.2%. The next largest groups are White (13.6%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Ermis 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 Ermis at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino83.2% · 178
- White13.6% · 29
- Two or more races1.9% · 4
- Black or African American1.4% · 3
Popularity
Ermis: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Ermis 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 Ermis during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Ermis
The given name Ermis finds its origins in Ancient Greek culture and language, stemming from the name of the Greek god Hermes. Hermes was the messenger of the gods, as well as the patron of travelers, shepherds, merchants, and orators. The name Ermis is a variant spelling and pronunciation of Hermes, reflecting linguistic changes over time.
In Greek mythology, Hermes was a significant figure, appearing in numerous ancient texts and stories. He played a crucial role in the Odyssey by Homer, where he aided Odysseus on his journey home. Hermes was also celebrated in the Homeric Hymns, a collection of ancient Greek poems dedicated to various deities.
One of the earliest recorded individuals bearing the name Ermis was Ermis of Colophon, a Greek philosopher and mathematician who lived in the 5th century BCE. He is credited with introducing the study of geometry to the city of Colophon, located in modern-day Turkey.
Another notable figure was Ermis of Pedasa, a Greek sculptor from the 4th century BCE. He is known for his work on the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
During the Byzantine era, Ermis was the name of a prominent military leader, Ermis Kaminates, who lived in the 11th century CE. He played a crucial role in defending the Byzantine Empire against the Seljuk Turks.
In the field of literature, Ermis Panselinos was a renowned Greek writer and poet from the 13th century CE. He is particularly known for his work on the Life of St. Nikon, which provided valuable insights into the religious and cultural life of that era.
Later, in the 16th century CE, Ermis Trismegistus was the name used by a Greek philosopher and writer who contributed significantly to the field of alchemy and Hermeticism, a philosophical and spiritual tradition derived from the teachings of Hermes Trismegistus.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who bore the name Ermis throughout history, reflecting its enduring presence and significance across various cultures and eras.
People
Ermis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ermis 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
Ermis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ermis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ermis 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Ermis a common name?
We classify Ermis as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ermis most popular?
The single biggest year for Ermis was 2015, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ermis is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ermis in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 214 people with the name Ermis, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #36,840 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 Ermis 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 Ermis?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Ermis on both sides of the split. Of the 219 people counted with this name, 164 were male (74.9%) and 55 were female (25.1%). 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 Ermis?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ermis is Hispanic at 83.2%. The next largest groups are White (13.6%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Ermis most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Ermis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.2% (178 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 Ermis in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ermis a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ermis 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 Ermis still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ermis 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 Ermis 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 Ermis?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.