Ery
An English feminine name of uncertain origin and meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Ery. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ery today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ery births was 1991 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ery. 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 Ery. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
1991
6 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
1991 SSA rank
#7,562
Tracked since 1991
Census
Ery in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 227 people with the first name Ery, which placed it at #35,437 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
#35,437
National first-name rank
People counted
227
227 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
77.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ery
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ery is Hispanic at 77.5%. The next largest groups are White (9.3%) and Black (6.2%). 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 Ery 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 Ery at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino77.5% · 176
- White9.3% · 21
- Black or African American6.2% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.8% · 11
- Two or more races1.3% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 2
Popularity
Ery: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Ery 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 Ery during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Ery
The given name Ery is believed to have its origins in the ancient Greek language and culture, dating back to the classical period around the 5th century BCE. It is thought to be a diminutive form of the Greek name Eratosthenes, which itself is derived from the roots "eros" meaning love and "sthenes" meaning strength or power. As such, the name Ery may have been understood to carry connotations of strength or power through love or affection.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ery comes from the works of the ancient Greek historian and philosopher, Plutarch. In his work "Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans," Plutarch makes reference to an individual named Ery who lived in the 4th century BCE and was a member of the Sacred Band of Thebes, an elite military unit comprised entirely of male couples. This suggests that the name Ery may have been in use among the ancient Greeks during this time period.
Throughout ancient history, several notable individuals bore the name Ery. One such figure was Ery of Naucratis, a Greek explorer and merchant who lived in the 6th century BCE and is credited with establishing one of the earliest Greek settlements in Egypt. Another was Ery of Samos, a famous sculptor from the 6th century BCE who was renowned for his intricate and lifelike statues of athletes and mythological figures.
Moving into the medieval period, the name Ery appears to have been less common, though there are records of a few individuals bearing the name. One example is Ery of Reims, a French monk and scribe who lived in the 9th century CE and was known for his beautiful calligraphy and illuminated manuscripts.
During the Renaissance, the name experienced something of a revival, particularly in Italy. One of the most notable figures from this time was Ery Barbarigo, a Venetian nobleman and military leader who fought against the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century CE. Another was Ery Aldobrandini, an Italian Cardinal and patron of the arts who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
As historical records become more complete in more recent centuries, additional examples of individuals named Ery can be found across various cultures and regions. These include Ery Stavropoulos, a Greek painter and engraver from the 19th century, and Ery Lejeune, a French composer and music theorist who lived in the early 20th century.
People
Ery + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ery 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
Ery: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ery?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ery 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 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Ery a common name?
We classify Ery as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ery most popular?
The single biggest year for Ery was 1991, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ery is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ery in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 227 people with the name Ery, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,437 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 Ery 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 Ery?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Ery on both sides of the split. Of the 224 people counted with this name, 171 were male (76.3%) and 53 were female (23.7%). 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 Ery?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ery is Hispanic at 77.5%. The next largest groups are White (9.3%) and Black (6.2%). 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 Ery most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Ery in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.5% (176 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 Ery in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ery a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ery 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 Ery still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ery 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 Ery 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 have the name Ery?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.