Eugen
Of Greek origin, meaning "well-born" or "noble."
Name Census estimates that about 80 living Americans carry the first name Eugen. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Eugen today is around 70 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Eugen births was 1930 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Eugen. 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 Eugen with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Eugen is about 70 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Eugens were born before 1966.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Eugen. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
80
~ 1 in 4,284,429 Americans
Peak year
1930
14 babies that year
Average age
70
years old
1988 SSA rank
#7,641
Tracked since 1915
Census
Eugen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 882 people with the first name Eugen, which placed it at #13,618 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
#13,618
National first-name rank
People counted
882
882 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
81.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Eugen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eugen is White at 81.4%. The next largest groups are Black (9.9%) and Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Eugen 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 Eugen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.4% · 718
- Black or African American9.9% · 87
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 32
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.2% · 28
- Two or more races1.6% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 3
Popularity
Eugen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Eugen from the 1910s through to the 1980s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 72 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
Eugen 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 Eugen 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 Eugen
The name Eugen has its origins in Ancient Greek, derived from the word "eugenes" which means "well-born" or "of noble birth." It was initially used as a title or epithet for individuals of high social standing or noble lineage.
The earliest recorded use of the name Eugen can be traced back to the 4th century AD, when it was mentioned in various Byzantine texts and manuscripts. During the Byzantine era, the name gained popularity among the aristocracy and was often given to male children born into prominent families.
In the Christian tradition, the name Eugen has been associated with several notable figures, including Saint Eugenius of Carthage, a 5th-century martyr, and Saint Eugenius I, who served as the Pope from 654 to 657 AD. These associations contributed to the name's widespread adoption across Europe during the medieval period.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name Eugen was Eugenius II, who became the Pope in 824 AD. Another prominent figure was Eugenius of Palermo, a 12th-century scholar and philosopher from Sicily. In the 16th century, Eugen of Savoy (1663-1736) was a renowned military commander who played a significant role in the wars against the Ottoman Empire.
Other notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Eugen include:
1. Eugen Bleuler (1857-1939), a Swiss psychiatrist who coined the term "schizophrenia."
2. Eugen Böhm-Bawerk (1851-1914), an Austrian economist and a leading figure in the Austrian School of Economics.
3. Eugen d'Albert (1864-1932), a German composer and pianist known for his piano concertos and operas.
4. Eugen Dücker (1841-1916), a German architect who designed several notable buildings in Berlin.
5. Eugen Klöpfer (1886-1950), a German Olympic fencer who won multiple gold medals in the early 20th century.
Over time, the name Eugen has undergone various spelling variations, such as Eugene, Eugenio, and Evgeny, reflecting its adoption across different cultures and languages. Despite its ancient origins, the name Eugen has maintained its association with nobility, intellect, and accomplishment throughout history.
People
Eugen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Eugen 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
Eugen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Eugen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 80 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Eugen 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 4,284,429 US residents.
Is Eugen a common name?
We classify Eugen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 61.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 226 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Eugen most popular?
The single biggest year for Eugen was 1930, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Eugen is about 70 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Eugen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 882 people with the name Eugen, or 0.29 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,618 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 Eugen 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 Eugen?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Eugen leans strongly male. 872 people counted with this name were male (98.5%), compared with 13 female bearers (1.5%). 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 Eugen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eugen is White at 81.4%. The next largest groups are Black (9.9%) and Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Eugen most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Eugen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.4% (718 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 Eugen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Eugen a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Eugen 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 Eugen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Eugen 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 Eugen 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 the name Eugen?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.