# Ethel (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/ethel/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | English |
| Meaning | “noble” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɛθɪl/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Eth |
| Variant spellings | Ethyl |
| US babies named this | 280,412 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 1,490 / 278,922 (99% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 347, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Short form of names of Old English origin beginning with Ethel-, æþele (“noble”). First used in the 19th century. Cognate to the Germanic Adela and Adele.

## What it means

Ethel is grouped under noble.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 14 | 8,333 |
| 2012 | 15 | 7,954 |
| 2013 | 14 | 8,273 |
| 2014 | 21 | 6,059 |
| 2015 | 12 | 9,129 |
| 2016 | 25 | 5,337 |
| 2017 | 28 | 4,851 |
| 2018 | 32 | 4,387 |
| 2019 | 23 | 5,490 |
| 2020 | 26 | 4,933 |
| 2021 | 27 | 4,880 |
| 2022 | 28 | 4,835 |
| 2023 | 23 | 5,440 |
| 2024 | 27 | 4,937 |
| 2025 | 34 | 4,211 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1947 | 8 | 2,948 |
| 1948 | 6 | 3,425 |
| 1949 | 9 | 2,672 |
| 1950 | 9 | 2,637 |
| 1951 | 7 | 3,154 |
| 1952 | 13 | 2,184 |
| 1954 | 6 | 3,565 |
| 1955 | 9 | 2,835 |
| 1956 | 7 | 3,306 |
| 1957 | 5 | 4,168 |
| 1962 | 5 | 4,244 |
| 1963 | 8 | 3,140 |
| 1965 | 5 | 4,077 |
| 1966 | 7 | 3,330 |
| 1968 | 5 | 4,319 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 7 | 3,185 |
| 2012 | 8 | 2,969 |
| 2013 | 10 | 2,460 |
| 2014 | 6 | 3,514 |
| 2015 | 22 | 1,452 |
| 2016 | 16 | 1,834 |
| 2017 | 31 | 1,105 |
| 2018 | 31 | 1,111 |
| 2019 | 22 | 1,389 |
| 2020 | 17 | 1,687 |
| 2021 | 28 | 1,195 |
| 2022 | 23 | 1,383 |
| 2023 | 28 | 1,169 |
| 2024 | 36 | 980 |
| 2025 | 26 | 1,229 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3 | 5,137 |

## In other languages

- Danish: Edel
- Japanese: エセル
- Norwegian: Edel
- Polish: Ethel
- Swedish: Edla

## People named Ethel

- Ethel Barrymore, American actress (1879–1959)
- Ethel Merman, American actress and singer (1908-1984)
- Ethel Lilian Voynich, British writer and musician (1864–1960)
- Ethel Smyth, English composer and suffragette (1858–1944)
- Ethel Waters, American blues, jazz and gospel vocalist and actress (1896-1977)
- Ethel Kennedy, American human-rights campaigner and spouse of US Senator Robert F. Kennedy
- Ethel Catherwood, Canadian track and field athlete
- Ethel Smith, Canadian sprinter (1907-1979)
- Ethel May Collins, English supercentenarian (born 1909)
- Ethel Lackie, American swimmer (1907–1979)
- Ethel Thomson Larcombe, English tennis and badminton player (1879-1965)
- Ethel Clayton, American actress (1882–1966)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.