Ewell
An English variation of Avelle, meaning "wished for child".
Name Census estimates that about 518 living Americans carry the first name Ewell. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ewell today is around 73 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ewell births was 1919 (78 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ewell. 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 Ewell is about 73 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Ewells were born before 1963.
People living today
518
~ 1 in 661,688 Americans
Peak year
1919
78 babies that year
Average age
73
years old
1982 SSA rank
#3,986
Tracked since 1882
Census
Ewell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 559 people with the first name Ewell, which placed it at #19,094 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
#19,094
National first-name rank
People counted
559
559 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
79.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ewell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ewell is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Black (16.8%) and Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Ewell 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 Ewell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.8% · 446
- Black or African American16.8% · 94
- Two or more races1.6% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino1.1% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Ewell
Out of the 2,058 babies given the name Ewell since 1880, 99.7% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Ewell as a male name
- Ranked #5,877 in 1982
- 6 male births in 1982
- Peak: 1919 (71 births)
Ewell as a female name
- Ranked #3,986 in 1919
- 7 female births in 1919
- Peak: 1919 (7 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ewell leans strongly male. 549 people counted with this name were male (97.7%), compared with 13 female bearers (2.3%).
Popularity
Ewell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ewell from the 1880s through to the 1980s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 521 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
Ewell 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 Ewell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ewells live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. Texas, Kentucky, Arkansas recorded the most babies named Ewell, while Illinois, Oklahoma, Mississippi recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 62 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ewell
The given name Ewell is an English name with origins that can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "ēawiell" or "ēawill," which means "river source" or "spring." This connection to water sources suggests that the name may have initially been used for individuals who lived near rivers, streams, or natural springs.
During the medieval period, the name Ewell was particularly prevalent in regions of England where Old English was spoken, such as the counties of Surrey, Kent, and Middlesex. In these areas, the name was often associated with settlements or villages located near rivers or springs, further reinforcing its connection to water sources.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ewell can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The book mentions an individual named Ewell who held land in the county of Surrey.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Ewell. One of the earliest was Richard Ewell (1817-1872), a prominent Confederate general during the American Civil War. He played a significant role in several major battles, including the Battle of Gettysburg.
Another individual named Ewell who left a mark in history was Marshall D. Ewell (1882-1958), a decorated United States Marine Corps officer who served in various conflicts, including World War I and the Banana Wars in Central America.
In the realm of literature, Ewell Gibbons (1896-1970) was an American author and journalist known for his books on natural history and outdoor life. He was particularly celebrated for his works on the Ozark Mountains and the American frontier.
The name Ewell also gained recognition in the field of medicine through Benjamin J. Ewell (1868-1934), an American physician and surgeon who made significant contributions to the treatment of tuberculosis and the development of thoracic surgery.
Another notable individual was Benjamin Stoddert Ewell (1810-1894), an American lawyer and politician who served as the 18th Governor of Maryland from 1866 to 1869.
While the name Ewell has its roots in Old English and the Middle Ages, it has continued to be used throughout history, with individuals bearing this name leaving their mark across various fields and disciplines.
People
Ewell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ewell 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
Ewell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ewell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 518 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ewell 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 661,688 US residents.
Is Ewell a common name?
We classify Ewell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,058 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ewell most popular?
The single biggest year for Ewell was 1919, when 78 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ewell is about 73 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ewell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 559 people with the name Ewell, or 0.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,094 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 Ewell 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 Ewell?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ewell leans strongly male. 549 people counted with this name were male (97.7%), compared with 13 female bearers (2.3%). 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 Ewell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ewell is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Black (16.8%) and Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Ewell most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ewell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.8% (446 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 Ewell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ewell a male name?
Yes, 99.7% of people registered as Ewell 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 Ewell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ewell 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 Ewell 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 Americans are named Ewell?
See how many people have the name Ewell on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.