Ermyas
An Ethiopian male name meaning "the will of God".
Name Census estimates that about 15 living Americans carry the first name Ermyas. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ermyas today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ermyas births was 2019 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ermyas. 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 Ermyas. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
15
~ 1 in 22,850,289 Americans
Peak year
2019
8 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2020 SSA rank
#9,870
Tracked since 2019
Popularity
Ermyas: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ermyas from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 8 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ermyas 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 Ermyas 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 Ermyas
The name Ermyas is of Amharic origin, which is a Semitic language spoken in Ethiopia. It derives from the ancient Aramaic name Ramyah, which means "the Lord is exalted." The name's earliest recorded use dates back to the 4th century AD, when it appeared in the Ge'ez language, an ancient Semitic language used in the Eritrean and Ethiopian regions.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Ermyas, an Abbot who lived in the 5th century AD and was a prominent figure in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. He is revered as a saint and is celebrated on the 19th day of the Ethiopian month of Hedar.
Another notable figure with the name Ermyas was a 14th-century Ethiopian philosopher and scholar who wrote extensively on various subjects, including theology, astronomy, and mathematics. His works had a significant influence on the intellectual traditions of Ethiopia during that period.
In the 16th century, Ermyas was the name of an Ethiopian governor who played a crucial role in the conflict between the Christian Ethiopian Empire and the Islamic forces of the Adal Sultanate. His leadership and military strategies were instrumental in defending the Empire during this turbulent time.
Ermyas Wakwaya was an 18th-century Ethiopian artist and painter who gained recognition for his religious paintings and frescoes adorning churches and monasteries across Ethiopia. His works are considered masterpieces of Ethiopian Christian art and have been preserved for their historical and cultural significance.
In the 19th century, Ermyas Sholoda was an Ethiopian monk and writer who authored several religious texts and chronicles. His works provide valuable insights into the history and culture of Ethiopia during his time and are regarded as important literary contributions.
Throughout history, the name Ermyas has been associated with individuals who have made significant contributions to various fields, particularly in the realms of religion, scholarship, and the arts within the Ethiopian cultural context.
People
Ermyas + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ermyas 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
Ermyas: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ermyas?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 15 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ermyas 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 22,850,289 US residents.
Is Ermyas a common name?
We classify Ermyas as "Very Rare". It ranks above 35.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 15 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ermyas most popular?
The single biggest year for Ermyas was 2019, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ermyas is about 7 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Ermyas in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ermyas a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ermyas 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 Ermyas still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ermyas 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 Ermyas 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Ermyas as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Ermyas, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.