Ezzard
Strong, powerful, or victorious warrior in Arabic.
Name Census estimates that about 386 living Americans carry the first name Ezzard. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ezzard today is around 65 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ezzard births was 1951 (85 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ezzard. 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
386
~ 1 in 887,965 Americans
Peak year
1951
85 babies that year
Average age
65
years old
1994 SSA rank
#8,096
Tracked since 1949
Census
Ezzard in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 345 people with the first name Ezzard, which placed it at #26,793 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
#26,793
National first-name rank
People counted
345
345 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
92.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ezzard
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ezzard is Black at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Ezzard 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 Ezzard at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American92.2% · 318
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 10
- Two or more races2.3% · 8
- White1.4% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 2
Popularity
Ezzard: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ezzard from the 1940s through to the 1990s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 319 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ezzard 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 Ezzard during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ezzards live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Ezzard, while Virginia, Florida, South Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 19 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ezzard
The name Ezzard is a unique and intriguing moniker that holds a rich history and cultural significance. Its origins can be traced back to ancient Mesopotamia, where it was derived from the Akkadian language. The name is believed to have been constructed from the words "ezzu," meaning strong or powerful, and "ardu," which translates to servant or follower.
During the height of the Babylonian Empire, the name Ezzard was often bestowed upon warriors and soldiers who displayed exceptional bravery and strength on the battlefield. It was a name that carried great respect and honor within the military ranks of ancient Mesopotamia. Some scholars also suggest that the name may have been used to refer to individuals who were devoted followers of a particular deity or religious order.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ezzard can be found in cuneiform inscriptions dating back to the reign of King Hammurabi, the famous lawgiver of Babylon, in the 18th century BCE. These ancient tablets mention an individual named Ezzard-ili, whose name translates to "Ezzard is my god," indicating the religious significance of the name during that era.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Ezzard. One of the most famous was Ezzard Charles (1921-1975), an American professional boxer who held the world heavyweight championship from 1949 to 1951. Known for his defensive skills and counterpunching abilities, Charles was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1975.
Another notable figure was Ezzard Miller (1892-1968), an American jazz musician and bandleader from New Orleans. Miller was a prominent figure in the early days of jazz and is credited with helping to shape the unique sound and style of New Orleans jazz in the 1920s and 1930s.
In the realm of literature, Ezzard Stirling (1920-1998) was a British author and screenwriter best known for his novels and adaptations of classic works for television and film. His most acclaimed work was the 1965 adaptation of John Buchan's "The Thirty-Nine Steps" for the BBC.
The name Ezzard also found its way into the world of academia, with Ezzard Charles Davidson (1929-2000), an American professor of English and renowned scholar of Renaissance literature at the University of Nevada, Reno. Davidson's contributions to the study of Shakespeare and his contemporaries were widely acclaimed.
Lastly, Ezzard Emerson (1885-1961) was an American businessman and philanthropist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He made his fortune in the steel industry and was known for his generous donations to educational institutions and charitable organizations throughout his life.
While the name Ezzard may be relatively uncommon in modern times, its rich history and cultural significance serve as a testament to the enduring legacy of names that have withstood the test of time, transcending eras and cultures.
People
Ezzard + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ezzard 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
Ezzard: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ezzard?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 386 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ezzard 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 887,965 US residents.
Is Ezzard a common name?
We classify Ezzard as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 498 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ezzard most popular?
The single biggest year for Ezzard was 1951, when 85 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ezzard is about 65 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ezzard in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 345 people with the name Ezzard, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,793 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 Ezzard 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 Ezzard?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ezzard leans strongly male. 347 people counted with this name were male (98.9%), compared with 4 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 Ezzard?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ezzard is Black at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Ezzard most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Ezzard in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (318 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 Ezzard in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ezzard a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ezzard 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 Ezzard still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ezzard 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 Ezzard 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 people have the name Ezzard?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.