Jethro
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "overabundance" or "excellence".
Name Census estimates that about 3,151 living Americans carry the first name Jethro. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jethro today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jethro births was 2024 (201 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jethro. 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 Jethro with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.2K
~ 1 in 108,776 Americans
Peak year
2024
201 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,078
Tracked since 1893
Census
Jethro in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,438 people with the first name Jethro, which placed it at #6,549 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
#6,549
National first-name rank
People counted
2.4K
2,438 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
47.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jethro
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jethro is White at 47.3%. The next largest groups are Black (23.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (14.4%). 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 Jethro 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 Jethro at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White47.3% · 1,152
- Black or African American23.0% · 560
- Asian and Pacific Islander14.4% · 352
- Hispanic or Latino9.0% · 219
- Two or more races5.7% · 138
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 17
Popularity
Jethro: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jethro from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,078 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jethro 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 Jethro during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jethros live
The SSA's state-level files cover 31 states and territories. California, North Carolina, Texas recorded the most babies named Jethro, while Tennessee, Nevada, Nebraska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 45 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jethro
The name Jethro has its origins in the Hebrew language. It is derived from the Hebrew word "yatar," which means "abundance" or "excellence." The name can be traced back to ancient biblical times, particularly in the Old Testament.
One of the earliest and most notable references to the name Jethro is found in the Book of Exodus. Jethro was the father-in-law of Moses, the great prophet and leader of the Israelites. He was a Midianite priest who provided wise counsel to Moses, advising him on the organization and administration of the Israelite community. Jethro's guidance played a crucial role in shaping the early governance and judicial system of the Israelites.
In the 17th century, the name Jethro gained popularity among the Puritans in England and later in the American colonies. It was seen as a strong biblical name, reflecting values such as wisdom and leadership. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in America was Jethro Coffin, born in 1631 in Massachusetts. He was a prominent figure in the early days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and served as a magistrate and deputy to the General Court.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Jethro. One example is Jethro Tull (1674-1741), an English agricultural pioneer and innovator who made significant contributions to the development of modern farming techniques. His influential book, "The Horse-Hoing Husbandry," introduced new methods for cultivating crops and managing soil fertility.
Another notable figure was Jethro Kloss (1863-1946), an American author and natural health enthusiast. He wrote several books on herbal remedies, vegetarianism, and natural living, including the influential work "Back to Eden." His teachings and writings had a significant impact on the early health food movement in the United States.
In the realm of literature, Jethro Furr (1840-1916) was an American writer and poet known for his works depicting life in the American South. His collection of poems, "Legends of the Old Plantation," offered a glimpse into the experiences and folklore of African Americans during the post-Civil War era.
The name Jethro has also been associated with various fictional characters, further contributing to its cultural significance. One example is Jethro Bodine, the lovable yet quirky character from the popular 1960s television series "The Beverly Hillbillies."
Notable bearers
Famous people named Jethro
People
Jethro + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jethro as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jethro: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jethro?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,151 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jethro 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 108,776 US residents.
Is Jethro a common name?
We classify Jethro 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, 4,077 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jethro most popular?
The single biggest year for Jethro was 2024, when 201 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jethro is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jethro in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,438 people with the name Jethro, or 0.81 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,549 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 Jethro 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 Jethro?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jethro appears almost entirely male. Of the 2,436 people counted with this name, 99.6% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Jethro?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jethro is White at 47.3%. The next largest groups are Black (23.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (14.4%). 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 Jethro most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jethro in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.3% (1,152 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 Jethro in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jethro a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jethro 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 Jethro still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jethro 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 Jethro 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 Jethro?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.