Ewel
A masculine English name of uncertain origin, possibly a variant of Yule.
Name Census estimates that about 4 living Americans carry the first name Ewel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ewel today is around 87 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ewel births was 1915 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ewel. 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
- • The typical person named Ewel is about 87 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Ewels were born before 1949.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ewel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
4
~ 1 in 85,688,585 Americans
Peak year
1915
9 babies that year
Average age
87
years old
1939 SSA rank
#3,659
Tracked since 1912
Popularity
Ewel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ewel from the 1910s through to the 1930s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 28 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Ewel remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ewel 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 Ewel 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 Ewel
The name Ewel is believed to have originated from the Old English word "ēowen," which means "to show" or "to make known." This name can be traced back to the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain, which lasted from the 5th to the 11th century.
Ewel was a relatively uncommon name during the medieval period, but it can be found in some historical records and texts from that time. One of the earliest known references to the name is in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land ownership and wealth in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears in the form "Ewel" in this document, indicating its use as a personal name in 11th century England.
One notable bearer of the name Ewel was Ewel of Beverley, a renowned English scholar and ecclesiastic who lived in the 7th century. He is known for his contributions to the establishment of the monastic school at Beverley, which played a significant role in the spread of education and learning in northern England.
Another historical figure with the name Ewel was Ewel the Bald, a Frankish nobleman who lived in the 9th century. He served as a count in the court of Charlemagne and was a prominent figure in the Carolingian Empire.
During the Middle Ages, the name Ewel was also found in various literary works and religious texts. For example, it appears in the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, which was written in the late 14th century. In this work, the name is used for a character described as a wealthy landowner.
In the 16th century, Ewel Everard was a notable English theologian and Protestant reformer who played a role in the establishment of the Church of England. He was born in 1521 and died in 1592.
Another historical figure with the name Ewel was Ewel Crowe, an English soldier who fought in the English Civil War during the 17th century. He was born in 1615 and died in 1683.
While the name Ewel has been relatively uncommon throughout history, it has left its mark in various contexts, reflecting its Old English roots and its use by notable individuals in different eras.
People
Ewel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ewel 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
Ewel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ewel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ewel 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 85,688,585 US residents.
Is Ewel a common name?
We classify Ewel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 6.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 68 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ewel most popular?
The single biggest year for Ewel was 1915, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ewel is about 87 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Ewel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ewel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ewel 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 Ewel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ewel 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 Ewel 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Ewel?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Ewel, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.