Esaw
Male name of Biblical origin meaning "hairy" or "rough".
Name Census estimates that about 110 living Americans carry the first name Esaw. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Esaw today is around 77 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Esaw births was 1923 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Esaw. 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 Esaw is about 77 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Esaws were born before 1959.
People living today
110
~ 1 in 3,115,949 Americans
Peak year
1923
15 babies that year
Average age
77
years old
1968 SSA rank
#3,842
Tracked since 1907
Census
Esaw in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 119 people with the first name Esaw, which placed it at #50,492 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
#50,492
National first-name rank
People counted
119
119 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
86.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Esaw
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Esaw is Black at 86.6%. The next largest groups are White (5.9%) and Hispanic (5.0%). 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 Esaw 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 Esaw at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American86.6% · 103
- White5.9% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 2
- Two or more races0.8% · 1
Popularity
Esaw: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Esaw from the 1900s through to the 1960s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 85 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Esaw 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 Esaw during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Esaws live
Origin
Meaning and history of Esaw
The name Esaw has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the biblical name Esau, which means "hairy" or "rough." The name is closely associated with the story of Jacob and Esau from the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible.
In the biblical narrative, Esau was the firstborn son of Isaac and Rebekah, and the elder twin brother of Jacob. He was a skilled hunter and was favored by his father, Isaac. The name Esau is significant in the biblical account, as it represents the struggle between the two brothers and the birthright that was ultimately given to Jacob.
The earliest recorded mention of the name Esau is found in the Book of Genesis, which is believed to have been written between the 15th and 13th centuries BCE. The biblical figure Esau is considered to be one of the most well-known individuals with this name throughout history.
Another notable figure with the name Esaw was Esau McCaulley, an American academic and author born in 1985. He is known for his work on the intersection of Christianity, race, and culture, and has written books such as "Reading While Black" and "Sharing Bread: An Introduction to the Lord's Supper."
In the 17th century, there was a British poet named Esaias Settle, who lived from 1648 to 1724. He was known for his plays and literary works, including "The Empress of Morocco" and "The Distress'd Wife."
A prominent figure in the field of science was Esau H. Patterson, an American physicist and engineer who lived from 1916 to 2006. He made significant contributions to the development of radar technology and was a pioneer in the field of electronic warfare.
In the realm of sports, Esau Kanyenda was a Malawian footballer who played as a striker. He was born in 1982 and represented the Malawian national team, earning over 100 caps and scoring numerous goals for his country.
While the name Esaw may not be as common today, its historical significance and biblical roots remain an important part of its legacy, making it a name with a rich cultural and religious heritage.
People
Esaw + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Esaw 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
Esaw: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Esaw?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 110 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Esaw 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 3,115,949 US residents.
Is Esaw a common name?
We classify Esaw as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 383 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Esaw most popular?
The single biggest year for Esaw was 1923, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Esaw is about 77 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Esaw in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 119 people with the name Esaw, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #50,492 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 Esaw 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 Esaw?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Esaw appears almost entirely male. Of the 117 people counted with this name, 100.0% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Esaw?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Esaw is Black at 86.6%. The next largest groups are White (5.9%) and Hispanic (5.0%). 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 Esaw most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Esaw in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.6% (103 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 Esaw in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Esaw a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Esaw 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 Esaw still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Esaw 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 Esaw 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 Esaw?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.