Ethyl
Derived from the Greek word "aither" meaning "upper air" or "pure air".
Name Census estimates that about 190 living Americans carry the first name Ethyl. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ethyl today is around 82 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ethyl births was 1915 (92 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ethyl. 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 Ethyl is about 82 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Ethyls were born before 1954.
People living today
190
~ 1 in 1,803,970 Americans
Peak year
1915
92 babies that year
Average age
82
years old
1971 SSA rank
#8,716
Tracked since 1880
Census
Ethyl in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 418 people with the first name Ethyl, which placed it at #23,409 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
#23,409
National first-name rank
People counted
418
418 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
68.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ethyl
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ethyl is White at 68.4%. The next largest groups are Black (20.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (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 Ethyl 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 Ethyl at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.4% · 286
- Black or African American20.3% · 85
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.0% · 21
- Two or more races4.1% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino0.5% · 2
Popularity
Ethyl: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ethyl from the 1880s through to the 1970s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 654 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ethyl 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 Ethyl during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ethyls live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. Pennsylvania, Illinois, New York recorded the most babies named Ethyl, while Wisconsin, Kentucky, Iowa recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 20 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ethyl
Ethyl is a given name of English origin, derived from the Old English word "æðele," meaning "noble" or "aristocratic." The name dates back to the Anglo-Saxon period, which spanned from the 5th to the 11th century in what is now England.
The first recorded use of the name Ethyl can be traced back to the 9th century, where it appeared in various historical documents and records from the time. The name was particularly popular among the noble classes of Anglo-Saxon society, as it reflected their desire to bestow a name that embodied their high social status.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Ethyl was Ethyl of Saxony, a noblewoman who lived in the 10th century. She was a prominent figure in the court of King Edgar the Peaceful and played an influential role in the politics of her time.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Ethyl continued to be used, particularly among the aristocracy and upper classes of English society. It was also adopted by some members of the clergy and religious orders, as the name's connotation of nobility and virtue aligned with their spiritual principles.
In the 16th century, the name Ethyl gained further prominence with the birth of Ethyl Howard, an English noblewoman and the daughter of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk. Born in 1536, she was a prominent figure in the Tudor court and was known for her intelligence and political acumen.
Another notable figure with the name Ethyl was Ethyl Smyth, an English composer and pioneering figure in the women's suffrage movement. Born in 1858, she was one of the first female composers to gain widespread recognition for her works, which included operas, chamber music, and orchestral pieces.
In the 20th century, the name Ethyl was borne by Ethyl Barrymore, an American actress and member of the renowned Barrymore family of actors. Born in 1879, she was known for her roles on stage and in silent films, and was regarded as one of the greatest actresses of her time.
While the name Ethyl has declined in popularity in recent decades, it remains a part of the rich tapestry of English name history, with its roots firmly planted in the noble traditions of the Anglo-Saxon era.
People
Ethyl + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ethyl 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
Ethyl: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ethyl?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 190 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ethyl 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 1,803,970 US residents.
Is Ethyl a common name?
We classify Ethyl as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,395 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ethyl most popular?
The single biggest year for Ethyl was 1915, when 92 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ethyl is about 82 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ethyl in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 418 people with the name Ethyl, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,409 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 Ethyl 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 Ethyl?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ethyl appears almost entirely female. Of the 416 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Ethyl?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ethyl is White at 68.4%. The next largest groups are Black (20.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (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 Ethyl most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ethyl in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.4% (286 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 Ethyl in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ethyl a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ethyl 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 Ethyl still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ethyl 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 Ethyl 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 Ethyl as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.