Ethel
Old English æthel, “noble,” cut loose from longer names like Ethelinda in the 1800s.
Popularity, 1880–2025
Old English for 'noble,' a mainstay of the 1890s that midcentury sitcoms recast as a grandmother's name.
Ethel appears in the national records from the very first year, 1880. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American girls in every year from 1880 to 1939. It spent 16 years inside the top 10. Its biggest year was 1918, when 8,075 newborn girls received the name, ranking it No. 28 nationally. Its best ranking came in 1896, at No. 6. All told, 280,412 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
Related names
Other spellings on record: Ethyl (2,395), Eathel (784) (total births since 1880)
Explore Ethel interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 14,866 | No. 8 |
| 1890s | 31,453 | No. 6 |
| 1900s | 34,868 | No. 8 |
| 1910s | 63,662 | No. 13 |
| 1920s | 62,806 | No. 30 |
| 1930s | 31,582 | No. 65 |
| 1940s | 20,582 | No. 106 |
| 1950s | 11,544 | No. 176 |
| 1960s | 4,691 | No. 359 |
| 1970s | 1,499 | No. 689 |
| 1980s | 547 | No. 1461 |
| 1990s | 272 | No. 2571 |
| 2000s | 187 | No. 4280 |
| 2010s | 198 | No. 4357 |
| 2020s | 165 | No. 4172 |
Births and rank shown for girls, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.
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Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.