Eureka
A word derived from Greek expressing joy upon finding or discovering something.
Name Census estimates that about 748 living Americans carry the first name Eureka. It is a predominantly female name (99.4% of registrations). The average person named Eureka today is around 47 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Eureka births was 1974 (43 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Eureka. 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
748
~ 1 in 458,228 Americans
Peak year
1974
43 babies that year
Average age
47
years old
1978 SSA rank
#6,109
Tracked since 1913
Gender
Gender distribution for Eureka
Out of the 860 babies given the name Eureka since 1880, 99.4% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Eureka as a male name
- Ranked #6,109 in 1978
- 5 male births in 1978
- Peak: 1978 (5 births)
Eureka as a female name
- Ranked #12,647 in 2022
- 7 female births in 2022
- Peak: 1974 (43 births)
Popularity
Eureka: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Eureka from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 380 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Eureka 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 Eureka during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Eurekas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Louisiana, Georgia, Texas recorded the most babies named Eureka, while Tennessee, North Carolina, Maryland recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 17 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Eureka
The name Eureka is an ancient Greek exclamation that literally translates to "I have found it!" It is derived from the verb "ευρίσκω" (heuriskō), meaning "to find or discover." This expression is closely associated with the legendary anecdote of the Greek mathematician Archimedes, who is said to have exclaimed "Eureka!" after discovering the principle of buoyancy while taking a bath.
Eureka has been used as a given name since ancient times, though its popularity has varied across different cultures and periods. In ancient Greece, the name was sometimes used as a celebratory exclamation, but it was not commonly given as a personal name. The earliest known record of Eureka as a personal name dates back to the 3rd century BC, when it was borne by a Greek woman named Eureka of Crete.
Throughout history, the name Eureka has been associated with moments of discovery, innovation, and intellectual breakthroughs. In the 16th century, the renowned English mathematician and astronomer Thomas Harriot (c. 1560-1621) used the word "Eureka" to express his joy and satisfaction upon solving a complex mathematical problem.
One of the most famous individuals named Eureka was Eureka Stockton (1804-1886), an American philanthropist and abolitionist from Philadelphia. She was actively involved in the Underground Railroad and worked tirelessly to assist enslaved people in their pursuit of freedom. Another notable figure was Eureka Woodhull (1838-1927), an American leader of the women's suffrage movement and the first woman to run for President of the United States in 1872.
In the realm of literature, the name Eureka appeared in the work of American author Edgar Allan Poe. His short story "The Purloined Letter" (1844) featured a character named C. Auguste Dupin, who had a remarkable talent for solving mysteries and often exclaimed "Eureka!" upon cracking a case.
Other notable individuals with the name Eureka include Eureka Driggers (1884-1979), an American artist and illustrator known for her paintings depicting rural life in the American South, and Eureka Paus (1903-1996), a Norwegian politician and one of the earliest female members of the Storting, the Norwegian parliament.
While the name Eureka is not as common today as it once was, it remains a unique and intriguing choice, evoking a sense of discovery, innovation, and intellectual curiosity.
People
Eureka + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Eureka 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
Eureka: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Eureka?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 748 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Eureka 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 458,228 US residents.
Is Eureka a common name?
We classify Eureka as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 860 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Eureka most popular?
The single biggest year for Eureka was 1974, when 43 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Eureka is about 47 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Eureka a female name?
Yes, 99.4% of people registered as Eureka 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.