Estill
A masculine name of English origin potentially derived from a place name meaning "east hill".
Name Census estimates that about 380 living Americans carry the first name Estill. It is a predominantly male name (99.4% of registrations). The average person named Estill today is around 71 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Estill births was 1919 (43 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Estill. 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 Estill is about 71 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Estills were born before 1965.
People living today
380
~ 1 in 901,985 Americans
Peak year
1919
43 babies that year
Average age
71
years old
1993 SSA rank
#4,117
Tracked since 1883
Census
Estill in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 364 people with the first name Estill, which placed it at #25,851 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
#25,851
National first-name rank
People counted
364
364 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
92.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Estill
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Estill is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Black (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Estill 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 Estill at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.9% · 338
- Black or African American3.0% · 11
- Two or more races2.2% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 7
Gender
Gender distribution for Estill
Out of the 1,253 babies given the name Estill since 1880, 99.4% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Estill as a male name
- Ranked #9,174 in 1993
- 5 male births in 1993
- Peak: 1919 (43 births)
Estill as a female name
- Ranked #4,117 in 1920
- 7 female births in 1920
- Peak: 1920 (7 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Estill leans strongly male. 355 people counted with this name were male (96.5%), compared with 13 female bearers (3.5%).
Popularity
Estill: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Estill from the 1880s through to the 1990s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 287 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
Estill 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 Estill during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Estills live
Origin
Meaning and history of Estill
The name Estill is believed to have its origins in the Old French language, emerging during the Middle Ages around the 12th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old French word "estille," which means "stalk" or "stem," likely referring to a slender or tall person.
The name Estill was initially prevalent in northern France, particularly in the regions of Normandy and Brittany. As the name spread across Europe, it experienced variations in spelling, including Estille, Estil, and Estyll.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Estill can be found in the Domesday Book, a manuscript compiled in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror. This historical record mentions an individual named Estill, who was a landowner in the county of Devon, England.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Estill. One such person was Estill Courtney (1612-1691), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament during the reign of King Charles II. Another was Estill McHenry (1771-1838), an American pioneer and frontiersman who played a significant role in the exploration and settlement of the American West.
In the realm of literature, Estill Pollock (1924-2008) was an American author and playwright known for his works exploring the African American experience. His play "Almighty God" received critical acclaim and was produced on Broadway in the 1970s.
The name Estill also has a connection to the world of music. Estill Voice Training, a prominent vocal pedagogy system, was developed by American singer and voice teacher Jo Estill (1921-2010). Her innovative approach to vocal instruction has been widely adopted by professional singers and vocal coaches worldwide.
Another notable figure was Estill Curtis Pennington (1872-1952), an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania in the early 20th century.
While the name Estill has waned in popularity in recent times, its rich history and unique origins continue to captivate those interested in the study of names and their meanings.
People
Estill + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Estill 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
Estill: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Estill?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 380 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Estill 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 901,985 US residents.
Is Estill a common name?
We classify Estill as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,253 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Estill most popular?
The single biggest year for Estill was 1919, when 43 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Estill is about 71 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Estill in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 364 people with the name Estill, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,851 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 Estill 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 Estill?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Estill leans strongly male. 355 people counted with this name were male (96.5%), compared with 13 female bearers (3.5%). 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 Estill?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Estill is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Black (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Estill most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Estill in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.9% (338 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 Estill in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Estill a male name?
Yes, 99.4% of people registered as Estill 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 Estill still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Estill 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 Estill 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 Estill as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Estill, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.