Ethel Merman
There are approximately 1 people named Ethel Merman living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Ethel with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Merman. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.
Expected bearers
1
1 in 342,754,338
Named Ethel
31K
Alive today
Named Merman
240
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 31K
Rarity: Uncommon
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1918
Average age: 77
Estimated bearers: 240
Rarity: Very Rare
Census rank: #85,659
Per 100K: 0.07
Top ancestry: White (97.3%)
First name trend
Ethel: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Ethel. The peak year was 1918 with 8,110 births. The average person named Ethel today is 77 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Merman surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Merman, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 97.3%.
- White97.3%
- Hispanic or Latino2.3%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Ethel has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0091% of the US population, based on 31,037 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Merman appears at a rate of 0.07 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0001%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 1 people with the full name Ethel Merman. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Ethel
FAQ
Ethel Merman: questions and answers
How many people are named Ethel Merman?
We estimate approximately 1 people in the United States share the full name Ethel Merman. That works out to about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0091%) with the surname frequency (0.07 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Ethel Merman?
We classify Ethel Merman as "Very Rare". About 1 in 342,754,338 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Ethel a male or female name?
Ethel is predominantly female. Out of 280,380 total SSA registrations, 0.5% were male and 99.5% were female. See the full Ethel profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2010 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.