Etienne
French masculine name originating from the Greek "Stephanos" meaning "crown".
Name Census estimates that about 1,537 living Americans carry the first name Etienne. It is a predominantly male name (94.6% of registrations). The average person named Etienne today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Etienne births was 2009 (47 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Etienne. 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.
People living today
1.5K
~ 1 in 223,002 Americans
Peak year
2009
47 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,900
Tracked since 1902
Gender
Gender distribution for Etienne
Etienne leans heavily male at 94.6% of total registrations, but 91 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Etienne as a male name
- Ranked #3,900 in 2024
- 28 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2006 (43 births)
Etienne as a female name
- Ranked #16,052 in 2022
- 5 female births in 2022
- Peak: 2003 (8 births)
Popularity
Etienne: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Etienne from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 364 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Etienne remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Etienne 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 Etienne during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Etiennes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, Louisiana, New York recorded the most babies named Etienne, while Maryland, Texas, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 47 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Etienne
The name Etienne has its origins in the French language and culture, derived from the Ancient Greek name Stephanos, meaning "crown" or "wreath." It dates back to the early Christian era, becoming popular after the martyrdom of Saint Stephen, one of the first deacons of the Christian Church, in the 1st century AD.
Etienne was a common name among the Franks, a Germanic tribe that settled in the region now known as France during the 5th century. It gained widespread use throughout medieval France and remained a popular choice among French families for centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Etienne can be found in the 8th century, when Etienne, a Frankish nobleman and courtier, served as a trusted advisor to Charlemagne, the King of the Franks and the first Holy Roman Emperor.
In the 11th century, Etienne de Muret, a French monk and founder of the Grandmontine religious order, became a prominent figure in the Catholic Church. His life and teachings inspired many to join the monastic movement.
During the 12th century, Etienne de Tournai, a French philosopher and theologian, gained recognition for his contributions to the study of canon law and his writings on the relationship between faith and reason.
In the 13th century, Etienne Boileau, a French administrator and writer, is credited with compiling the first known collection of regulations governing the trades and guilds in Paris, known as the "Livre des Métiers" (Book of Trades).
Etienne Marcel, a prominent French politician and revolutionary leader in the 14th century, played a significant role in the Estates-General and the Parisian revolts against the French monarchy during the Hundred Years' War.
Throughout history, the name Etienne has been borne by numerous notable figures, including Etienne Pasquier, a 16th-century French lawyer and writer; Etienne Cabet, a 19th-century French philosopher and utopian socialist; and Etienne Decroux, a 20th-century French actor and influential figure in the development of modern mime.
People
Etienne + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Etienne 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
Etienne: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Etienne?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,537 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Etienne 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 223,002 US residents.
Is Etienne a common name?
We classify Etienne as "Rare". It ranks above 92.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,684 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Etienne most popular?
The single biggest year for Etienne was 2009, when 47 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Etienne is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Etienne a male name?
Yes, 94.6% of people registered as Etienne 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.
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.