Ethelbert
A masculine name of Germanic origin meaning "noble and bright".
Name Census estimates that about 16 living Americans carry the first name Ethelbert. It is a predominantly male name (97.3% of registrations). The average person named Ethelbert today is around 81 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ethelbert births was 1916 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ethelbert. 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 Ethelbert is about 81 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Ethelberts were born before 1955.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ethelbert. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
16
~ 1 in 21,422,146 Americans
Peak year
1916
14 babies that year
Average age
81
years old
1975 SSA rank
#5,041
Tracked since 1887
Census
Ethelbert in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 158 people with the first name Ethelbert, which placed it at #44,091 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
#44,091
National first-name rank
People counted
158
158 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
69.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ethelbert
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ethelbert is Black at 69.0%. The next largest groups are White (15.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (10.8%). 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 Ethelbert 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 Ethelbert at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American69.0% · 109
- White15.2% · 24
- Asian and Pacific Islander10.8% · 17
- Two or more races3.2% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Ethelbert
Ethelbert leans heavily male at 97.3% of total registrations, but 5 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Ethelbert as a male name
- Ranked #5,735 in 1975
- 5 male births in 1975
- Peak: 1916 (14 births)
Ethelbert as a female name
- Ranked #5,041 in 1927
- 5 female births in 1927
- Peak: 1927 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ethelbert leans strongly male. 151 people counted with this name were male (95.6%), compared with 7 female bearers (4.4%).
Popularity
Ethelbert: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ethelbert from the 1880s through to the 1970s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 73 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
Ethelbert 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 Ethelbert during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ethelberts live
Origin
Meaning and history of Ethelbert
The name Ethelbert has its origins in the Old English language, which was spoken by the Anglo-Saxons in what is now England, from the 5th to the 11th centuries. It is a compound name formed from the elements "æthel," meaning "noble," and "beorht," meaning "bright" or "shining." Together, the name can be interpreted as "noble and illustrious."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ethelbert is found in the history of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Britain. Ethelbert (c. 552–616) was a King of Kent, one of the most powerful Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in southern England during the late 6th and early 7th centuries. He is credited with being the first English king to convert to Christianity, following his marriage to the Christian princess Bertha of Francia.
Another notable figure in history who bore this name was Ethelbert, King of Wessex (c. 835–865). He was a West Saxon ruler who successfully defended his kingdom against Danish Viking invasions during the 9th century. His reign was marked by several victories over the Danes, including the Battle of Ashdown in 871.
In the 10th century, Ethelbert (c. 890–924) was an ealdorman (chief nobleman) and military leader in the kingdom of Wessex. He played a significant role in the campaigns of King Edward the Elder against the Danish invaders, helping to secure the unification of England under West Saxon rule.
During the 12th century, Ethelbert (c. 1109–1166) was an English cleric who served as the Archbishop of York from 1147 until his death. He was a prominent figure in the conflicts between the church and the English monarchy during the reign of King Stephen.
In the 13th century, Ethelbert of Hereford (c. 1240–1292) was an English prelate who held the position of Bishop of Hereford from 1275 until his death. He was involved in various political and ecclesiastical affairs during the reigns of Henry III and Edward I.
While the name Ethelbert has its roots in Old English and was more commonly used in the early medieval period, it has remained in use throughout the centuries, though with varying popularity. The name's association with notable historical figures, particularly in the Anglo-Saxon period, has contributed to its enduring legacy and significance within English nomenclature.
People
Ethelbert + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ethelbert 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
Ethelbert: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ethelbert?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 16 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ethelbert 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 21,422,146 US residents.
Is Ethelbert a common name?
We classify Ethelbert as "Very Rare". It ranks above 36.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 183 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ethelbert most popular?
The single biggest year for Ethelbert was 1916, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ethelbert is about 81 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ethelbert in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 158 people with the name Ethelbert, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #44,091 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 Ethelbert 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 Ethelbert?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ethelbert leans strongly male. 151 people counted with this name were male (95.6%), compared with 7 female bearers (4.4%). 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 Ethelbert?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ethelbert is Black at 69.0%. The next largest groups are White (15.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (10.8%). 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 Ethelbert most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Ethelbert in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.0% (109 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 Ethelbert in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ethelbert a male name?
Yes, 97.3% of people registered as Ethelbert 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 Ethelbert still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ethelbert 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 Ethelbert 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 Ethelbert as a first name?
See how many people share the name Ethelbert on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.