Esekiel
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "God strengthens" or "God's strength".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Esekiel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Esekiel today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Esekiel births was 2010 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Esekiel. 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 Esekiel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2010
5 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2010 SSA rank
#12,847
Tracked since 2010
Popularity
Esekiel: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Esekiel 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 Esekiel 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 Esekiel
The name Esekiel is derived from the Hebrew name Yehezkel, which means "God strengthens" or "God will strengthen." It is a variation of the more commonly known name Ezekiel, which has its origins in the Old Testament of the Bible.
The earliest known mention of the name Ezekiel is in the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible, where it refers to the prophet Ezekiel. He was a priest and a prophet who lived in the 6th century BCE and was among the Jewish captives taken to Babylon during the Babylonian exile.
In the Middle Ages, the name Ezekiel was relatively uncommon, but it gained some popularity during the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Esekiel was Esekiel Waith, an English Puritan minister who lived from 1594 to 1661.
Another notable figure with the name Esekiel was Esekiel Bulkeley, an English-born Puritan minister and one of the founders of Concord, Massachusetts. He lived from 1635 to 1696 and played a significant role in the early history of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
In the 18th century, Esekiel Hartley was a prominent English philosopher and Anglican clergyman who lived from 1705 to 1757. He was known for his work on the philosophy of human nature and his contributions to the field of psychology.
In the 19th century, Esekiel Hart was a notable English chess player who lived from 1805 to 1876. He was one of the strongest players of his time and competed in several important chess tournaments.
Moving into the 20th century, Esekiel Mphahlele was a renowned South African writer, educator, and activist who lived from 1919 to 2008. He was a prominent figure in the anti-apartheid movement and his works explored themes of racism, identity, and social injustice.
While the name Esekiel is relatively uncommon today, it has a rich history and a connection to various cultures and time periods. Its origins in the Hebrew language and its association with the biblical prophet Ezekiel have contributed to its enduring significance.
People
Esekiel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Esekiel 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
Esekiel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Esekiel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Esekiel 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 Esekiel a common name?
We classify Esekiel 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 Esekiel most popular?
The single biggest year for Esekiel was 2010, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Esekiel is about 16 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 Esekiel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Esekiel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Esekiel 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 Esekiel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Esekiel 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 Esekiel 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 Americans are named Esekiel?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.