Ewing
A masculine name of English origin meaning "son of Edwin".
Name Census estimates that about 298 living Americans carry the first name Ewing. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ewing today is around 68 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ewing births was 1925 (43 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ewing. 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 Ewing is about 68 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Ewings were born before 1968.
People living today
298
~ 1 in 1,150,182 Americans
Peak year
1925
43 babies that year
Average age
68
years old
2021 SSA rank
#12,718
Tracked since 1882
Popularity
Ewing: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ewing 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 311 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
Ewing 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 Ewing during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ewings live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Tennessee, Kentucky, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Ewing, while Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 43 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ewing
The name Ewing has its origins in Old English, deriving from the Old English given name "Eawa" or "Efa", meaning "prosperous" or "abundant". It is believed to have originated in the Anglo-Saxon period, circa 5th to 11th century AD, and was primarily used in England and parts of what is now Germany.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ewing can be found in the Domesday Book, a manuscript record of landholders in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name is listed as "Euuinc" in this document, which is considered one of the earliest written records of the name's existence.
In the 12th century, the name appeared in various spellings, such as "Ewing", "Euing", and "Ewyne", in historical records and charters from different regions of England. During this period, it was particularly prevalent in the northern counties of England, such as Yorkshire and Lancashire.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Ewing was Sir Adam Ewing, a Scottish knight who lived in the 13th century. He was a prominent figure in the Scottish Wars of Independence and fought alongside William Wallace and Robert the Bruce.
Another notable bearer of the name was John Ewing, a 16th-century English Protestant reformer and theologian. He was born in 1533 in Hertfordshire, England, and played a significant role in the English Reformation, serving as a chaplain to Queen Elizabeth I.
In the 17th century, the name gained popularity in Scotland, with several notable individuals bearing it. One such person was Samuel Ewing, a Scottish minister and educator who lived from 1617 to 1694. He was the founder of the famous Ewing School in Dundee, which provided education to many prominent Scots.
Moving into the 18th century, James Ewing, a Scottish-American military officer and surveyor, played a significant role in the American Revolutionary War. Born in 1736 in Pennsylvania, he served as a brigadier general in the Continental Army and was instrumental in the defense of Trenton, New Jersey.
Lastly, in the 19th century, Thomas Ewing, an American politician and lawyer, served as the United States Secretary of the Interior and the first Secretary of the Department of the Interior under President Zachary Taylor. He was born in 1789 in Ohio and had a prominent career in both law and politics.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Ewing, showcasing its enduring presence across different eras and regions.
People
Ewing + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ewing 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
Ewing: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ewing?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 298 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ewing 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 1,150,182 US residents.
Is Ewing a common name?
We classify Ewing as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,202 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ewing most popular?
The single biggest year for Ewing was 1925, when 43 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ewing is about 68 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Ewing a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ewing 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.
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.