Eunice
Of Greek origin meaning "good victory" or "victorious".
Name Census estimates that about 19,595 living Americans carry the first name Eunice. It is a predominantly female name (98.6% of registrations). The average person named Eunice today is around 57 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Eunice births was 1920 (2,278 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Eunice. 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
- • Although Eunice is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 1,178 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Compared to the 1920s, recent registration numbers for Eunice have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
20K
~ 1 in 17,492 Americans
Peak year
1920
2,278 babies that year
Average age
57
years old
1991 SSA rank
#1,967
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Eunice
Eunice leans heavily female at 98.6% of total registrations, but 1,178 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Eunice as a male name
- Ranked #5,224 in 1991
- 10 male births in 1991
- Peak: 1916 (47 births)
Eunice as a female name
- Ranked #1,967 in 2024
- 100 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1921 (2,240 births)
Popularity
Eunice: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Eunice from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 20,485 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
Eunice 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 Eunice during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Eunices live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. Texas, Georgia, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Eunice, while Alaska, Nevada, Delaware recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 1,303 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Eunice
Eunice is a feminine given name of Greek origin, derived from the word "eunikos," meaning "good victory" or "conquering well." The name traces its roots back to ancient Greece and the classical period.
The earliest recorded use of the name Eunice can be found in the New Testament of the Bible, where it is mentioned as the name of a Jewish Christian woman from the province of Asia Minor. In the Book of Acts and the Second Epistle to Timothy, Eunice is described as the mother of Timothy, a disciple of the Apostle Paul.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Eunice. One of the earliest recorded examples is Eunice of Bithynia, a Christian saint and martyr who lived in the 4th century AD during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. She was executed for her refusal to renounce her Christian faith.
Another influential figure with the name Eunice was Eunice Newton Foote (1819-1888), an American scientist and women's rights advocate. In 1856, she published a groundbreaking paper on the greenhouse effect, predating the work of John Tyndall and Svante Arrhenius on the subject.
In the realm of literature, Eunice Waymon (1933-2003), better known by her stage name Nina Simone, was a renowned American singer, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Her powerful voice and poignant lyrics addressed themes of racial inequality and social injustice.
Eunice Roberta Wodeyar (1922-2021) was an Indian princess and the last ruling Maharani of the princely state of Mysore. She played a significant role in promoting education, healthcare, and women's empowerment in the region.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver (1921-2009), a member of the prominent Kennedy family, was a trailblazer in the field of disability rights. She founded the Special Olympics, an international sports organization for individuals with intellectual disabilities, and worked tirelessly to promote inclusion and equality.
While the name Eunice has Greek origins and a rich historical legacy, its enduring popularity can be attributed to its melodic sound and the positive connotations of "good victory" and "conquering well." These qualities have inspired generations of parents to bestow this name upon their daughters, imbuing it with a sense of strength, resilience, and triumph.
People
Eunice + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Eunice 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
Eunice: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Eunice?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 19,595 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Eunice 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 17,492 US residents.
Is Eunice a common name?
We classify Eunice as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 81,437 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Eunice most popular?
The single biggest year for Eunice was 1920, when 2,278 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Eunice is about 57 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Eunice a female name?
Yes, 98.6% of people registered as Eunice 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.
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.