Jezekiel
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "God strengthens".
Name Census estimates that about 14 living Americans carry the first name Jezekiel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jezekiel today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jezekiel births was 2021 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jezekiel. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Jezekiel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
14
~ 1 in 24,482,453 Americans
Peak year
2021
8 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2021 SSA rank
#9,217
Tracked since 2018
Popularity
Jezekiel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jezekiel from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 8 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
Jezekiel 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 Jezekiel 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 Jezekiel
The name Jezekiel is derived from the Hebrew name Yechezkel, which means "God will strengthen" or "God strengthens." It is a combination of the Hebrew words "El" (meaning "God") and "chazaq" (meaning "to strengthen"). The name has its roots in the ancient Hebrew culture and can be traced back to biblical times.
Jezekiel is most famously associated with the biblical prophet Ezekiel, who was one of the major prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament. Ezekiel lived during the 6th century BCE and was among the Jewish captives taken to Babylon during the Babylonian exile. He is known for his vivid and symbolic visions recorded in the Book of Ezekiel, which includes his famous vision of the valley of dry bones.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jezekiel can be found in the Book of Ezekiel itself, where the prophet is referred to by his Hebrew name, Yechezkel. This biblical reference has undoubtedly contributed to the popularity of the name among Jewish and Christian communities throughout history.
Several notable historical figures have borne the name Jezekiel or variations of it. In the 15th century, Jezekiel ben Judah Landau was a prominent Jewish scholar and Talmudist from Poland. In the 17th century, Jezekiel Burton was an English clergyman and author known for his works on theology and philosophy.
Another notable bearer of the name was Jezekiel Pratt (1832-1900), an American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. In the 20th century, Jezekiel Ben-Ezra (1889-1972) was an Iraqi-Israeli linguist and scholar who made significant contributions to the study of Semitic languages.
The name Jezekiel has also been used in literature and popular culture. In Herman Melville's novel "Moby Dick," one of the characters is named Jezekiel. Additionally, the name has been used as a character in various films, television shows, and video games, reflecting its enduring cultural significance.
People
Jezekiel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jezekiel 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
Jezekiel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jezekiel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 14 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jezekiel 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 24,482,453 US residents.
Is Jezekiel a common name?
We classify Jezekiel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 34% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 14 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jezekiel most popular?
The single biggest year for Jezekiel was 2021, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jezekiel is about 6 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 Jezekiel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jezekiel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jezekiel 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 Jezekiel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jezekiel 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 Jezekiel 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 share the name Jezekiel?
You can see how many people have the name Jezekiel on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.