Esquiel
Of Spanish origin, meaning "vision of God" or "one who sees God".
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Esquiel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Esquiel today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Esquiel births was 1978 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Esquiel. 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 Esquiel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
1978
6 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
1978 SSA rank
#5,288
Tracked since 1978
Popularity
Esquiel: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Esquiel 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 Esquiel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Esquiel
The name Esquiel is believed to have originated from the Hebrew language, with its roots tracing back to ancient biblical times. The name is a combination of two Hebrew words, "Esqu" meaning "fire" or "passion," and "El," which is one of the names used to refer to God in the Hebrew scriptures.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Esquiel can be found in the Book of Genesis, where it is mentioned as the name of a minor figure who was a descendant of the patriarch Abraham. While not a central character, this reference suggests that the name held significance within the ancient Israelite culture.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Esquiel was relatively uncommon, though it did appear sporadically in various historical records and documents from the region that is now known as the Levant. One notable individual who bore this name was Esquiel ibn Yahuda, a prominent Jewish scholar and philosopher who lived in the 11th century in what is now present-day Spain.
In the 16th century, the name gained some prominence among certain Christian communities, particularly in parts of Europe where there was a strong interest in studying and preserving ancient Hebrew texts and traditions. One individual of note from this period was Esquiel Fernández, a Spanish priest and theologian who wrote extensively on biblical exegesis and the interpretation of Hebrew scriptures.
Another historical figure who carried the name Esquiel was Esquiel Gutiérrez, a 17th-century Spanish explorer and navigator who took part in several expeditions to the Americas and is credited with mapping and documenting various regions of the Caribbean and Central America.
In more recent times, the name Esquiel has remained relatively uncommon, though it has continued to be used sporadically in certain cultural and religious contexts. One notable individual from the 20th century who bore this name was Esquiel Nasi, a Turkish-born Jewish businessman and philanthropist who played a significant role in supporting and advocating for the Jewish community in the early decades of the 20th century.
People
Esquiel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Esquiel 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
Esquiel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Esquiel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Esquiel 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 Esquiel a common name?
We classify Esquiel 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 Esquiel most popular?
The single biggest year for Esquiel was 1978, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Esquiel is about 45 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 Esquiel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Esquiel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Esquiel 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 Esquiel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Esquiel 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 Esquiel 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 Esquiel?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.