Ethel
Meaning
noble
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Ethel peaked in the 1890s and the 1900s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
494 people · the #13,495 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 500,000 · median age 53
Among people named Ethel living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1970s than in any other decade.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Ethel
Most people given the name Ethel in the United States were born between 1940 and 1959. The Ethel you meet today is most often in her 70s or 80s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Ethel deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Ethel truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Ethel fits with your family’s names and surname.
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