Ewan
Well-born, born of the gentry, from an Old English surname.
Name Census estimates that about 3,086 living Americans carry the first name Ewan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ewan today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ewan births was 2013 (168 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ewan. 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 Ewan with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Ewan is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 14 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
3.1K
~ 1 in 111,068 Americans
Peak year
2013
168 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,509
Tracked since 1972
Census
Ewan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,935 people with the first name Ewan, which placed it at #5,720 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
#5,720
National first-name rank
People counted
2.9K
2,935 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
72.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ewan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ewan is White at 72.6%. The next largest groups are Black (8.7%) and Two or More Races (7.9%). 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 Ewan 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 Ewan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.6% · 2,132
- Black or African American8.7% · 256
- Two or more races7.9% · 231
- Hispanic or Latino6.3% · 185
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.3% · 126
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Popularity
Ewan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ewan from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,361 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Ewan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ewan 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 Ewan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ewans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 25 states and territories. California, Texas, Washington recorded the most babies named Ewan, while Louisiana, Indiana, Connecticut recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 64 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ewan
The given name Ewan is a Scottish name derived from the Gaelic name Eoghan, which is rooted in the Old Celtic word "Euganus". This name was originally used in ancient Celtic cultures across parts of what is now Scotland and Ireland, possibly as early as the 5th century AD.
Eoghan is believed to have originated as a personal name meaning "born of the yew tree" or "well-born". The yew tree held significant symbolism in ancient Celtic cultures, often associated with longevity, rebirth, and the otherworld.
In early medieval Scotland, the name Eoghan was borne by several notable figures, including Eoghan mac Muireadhach, a King of Dalriada in the late 5th century, and Eoghan Sreibhne, a 7th-century Irish prince and legendary warrior. These historical figures helped to establish the name's prominence in the region.
As the name evolved linguistically, it took on various spellings such as Ewan, Ewen, and Euan, reflecting the differences in regional dialects and the gradual transition from Gaelic to English in parts of Scotland.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Ewan dates back to the 12th century, with Ewan Curry, a Scottish nobleman and landowner. In the 14th century, Ewan Cameron, a member of the influential Clan Cameron, played a significant role in the Scottish Wars of Independence.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Ewan, including:
1. Ewan MacColl (1915-1989), a renowned English folk singer, songwriter, and labor activist.
2. Ewan McGregor (born 1971), a Scottish actor best known for his roles in films like "Trainspotting" and the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy.
3. Ewan Pearson (born 1977), a Scottish electronic music producer and DJ.
4. Ewan Sommerville (1876-1962), a Scottish architect and designer known for his work in the Arts and Crafts movement.
5. Ewan Butler (1949-2023), a Scottish actor and voice artist who provided voices for numerous animated series and video games.
While the name Ewan has its roots in ancient Celtic cultures, it has endured through the centuries and continues to be used in various parts of the world, particularly in Scotland, where it remains a popular choice among parents seeking a name with historical and cultural significance.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Ewan
People
Ewan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ewan 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
Ewan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ewan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,086 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ewan 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 111,068 US residents.
Is Ewan a common name?
We classify Ewan as "Rare". It ranks above 95.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,116 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ewan most popular?
The single biggest year for Ewan was 2013, when 168 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ewan is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ewan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,935 people with the name Ewan, or 0.97 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,720 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 Ewan 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 Ewan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ewan leans strongly male. 2,909 people counted with this name were male (98.9%), compared with 32 female bearers (1.1%). 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 Ewan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ewan is White at 72.6%. The next largest groups are Black (8.7%) and Two or More Races (7.9%). 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 Ewan most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ewan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.6% (2,132 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 Ewan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ewan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ewan 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 Ewan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ewan 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 Ewan 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 common is the name Ewan?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Ewan at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.