Ethal
A feminine name of uncertain origins, potentially relating to nobility or strength.
Name Census estimates that about 1 living Americans carry the first name Ethal. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ethal today is around 96 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ethal births was 1925 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ethal. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Ethal with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Ethal is about 96 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Ethals were born before 1940.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ethal. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
1
~ 1 in 342,754,338 Americans
Peak year
1925
9 babies that year
Average age
96
years old
1929 SSA rank
#4,811
Tracked since 1900
Census
Ethal in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 220 people with the first name Ethal, which placed it at #36,203 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
#36,203
National first-name rank
People counted
220
220 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
55.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ethal
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ethal is White at 55.9%. The next largest groups are Black (31.4%) 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 Ethal 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 Ethal at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White55.9% · 123
- Black or African American31.4% · 69
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 11
- Two or more races3.2% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 4
Popularity
Ethal: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ethal from the 1900s through to the 1920s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 47 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ethal 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 Ethal during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ethal
The name Ethal is an Old English name that originates from the Anglo-Saxon period, dating back to the 5th to 11th centuries. It is derived from the Old English word "æþele," which means "noble" or "aristocratic." The name was prevalent among the ruling classes and nobility of Anglo-Saxon England.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Ethal can be found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a historical record that covers the period from the Roman invasion of Britain to the Norman Conquest. The name appears in various forms, such as "Æþelræd" and "Æþelberht," indicating its popularity among the Anglo-Saxon rulers and nobility.
In the 7th century, the name gained prominence with Ethal, also known as Æthelthryth or Etheldreda, a princess of East Anglia who became a Christian saint. She was renowned for her piety and her determination to remain a virgin, despite being married twice. Her life and deeds were recorded in the ecclesiastical history of the English people by the Venerable Bede.
Another notable historical figure bearing the name Ethal was Ethal, the daughter of King Alfred the Great of Wessex, who lived in the 9th century. She was a renowned scholar and played a significant role in the intellectual and cultural revival of Anglo-Saxon England during her father's reign.
In the 10th century, Ethal, also known as Ethelred the Unready, became the King of England from 978 to 1016. Despite his unfortunate nickname, which was likely a mistranslation, he was a capable ruler who faced numerous challenges, including Viking invasions and internal conflicts.
During the Norman Conquest of England in the 11th century, the name Ethal fell out of favor and was largely replaced by Norman French names. However, it continued to be used in some parts of England, particularly in areas with strong Anglo-Saxon heritage.
Throughout history, the name Ethal has been associated with nobility, strength, and a sense of cultural identity. While it may not be as common today as in its heyday, it remains a unique and historically significant name that pays homage to the rich Anglo-Saxon heritage of England.
People
Ethal + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ethal 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
Ethal: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ethal?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ethal 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 342,754,338 US residents.
Is Ethal a common name?
We classify Ethal as "Very Rare". It ranks above 3.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 70 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ethal most popular?
The single biggest year for Ethal was 1925, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ethal is about 96 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ethal in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 220 people with the name Ethal, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #36,203 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 Ethal 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 Ethal?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ethal leans strongly female. 209 people counted with this name were female (95.0%), compared with 11 male bearers (5.0%). 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 Ethal?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ethal is White at 55.9%. The next largest groups are Black (31.4%) 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 Ethal most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ethal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.9% (123 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 Ethal in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ethal a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ethal in the SSA data are female. 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 Ethal still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ethal 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 Ethal 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 share the name Ethal?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.