Ethiel
A feminine name of Hebrew origin signifying "fortitude of God".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Ethiel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ethiel today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ethiel births was 2019 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ethiel. 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 Ethiel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2019
5 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2019 SSA rank
#12,737
Tracked since 2019
Popularity
Ethiel: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Ethiel 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 Ethiel 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 Ethiel
The name Ethiel has its origins in Hebrew, derived from the combination of the words "Eth" meaning "with" and "El" meaning "God". It is believed to have originated in ancient Judea, around the 5th century BCE. The name carries the meaning "God is with me" or "With God".
In ancient Hebrew texts, the name Ethiel is mentioned as one of the angelic beings in the hierarchy of celestial entities. It appears in the Book of Enoch, an ancient Jewish apocryphal work, where Ethiel is listed as one of the seven archangels who preside over the world.
The earliest recorded individual with the name Ethiel dates back to the 1st century CE, when a Jewish scholar and teacher named Ethiel ben Hananiah lived in ancient Israel. He is mentioned in the Talmud, a central text of Rabbinic Judaism, as a respected authority on religious law.
In the 4th century CE, Ethiel was the name of a Christian martyr who was executed during the persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Diocletian. He is venerated as a saint in the Orthodox Church, with his feast day celebrated on May 27th.
During the Middle Ages, the name Ethiel was relatively uncommon, but it resurfaced in the 16th century with Ethiel Ravisius Textor, a French scholar and author born in 1480. He is remembered for his works on ancient Greek and Roman literature, as well as his commentary on the works of Ovid.
In the 19th century, Ethiel was the name of a prominent English architect, Ethiel Armitage Trail, who lived from 1819 to 1899. He is known for his contributions to the Gothic Revival style of architecture, having designed several notable churches and buildings in England.
Another notable figure with the name Ethiel was Ethiel Garlington, an African American businessman and civic leader who lived from 1879 to 1950. He was instrumental in the development of the Phoenix, Arizona community and played a significant role in advocating for civil rights and equal opportunities for African Americans in the early 20th century.
People
Ethiel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ethiel 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
Ethiel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ethiel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ethiel 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 Ethiel a common name?
We classify Ethiel 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 Ethiel most popular?
The single biggest year for Ethiel was 2019, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ethiel is about 7 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 Ethiel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ethiel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ethiel 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 Ethiel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ethiel 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 Ethiel 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 people have Ethiel as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Ethiel, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.