Ethel
Girl name · #4172 in 2025 · Uniqueness 68/100
Ethel ranks #4172 among American girls' names as of 2025, with 34 newborns given the name that year. A decade ago it stood at #8931, so the name has been rising over the past ten years. Roughly one in every 52,941 girls born in 2025 was named Ethel.
The 145-year story
Ethel first appears in the Social Security records in 1880, when 633 girls received the name. Its peak came in 1918, when 8,075 girls were named Ethel — good for #28 that year. Today's parents encounter it as a name from their grandparents’ generation, which is precisely the vintage window from which names get revived. Following the curve matters more than today's snapshot: a name's position on its rise-peak-decline arc is the best predictor of how common it will feel in a kindergarten class five years from now.
Babies named Ethel per year, 1880–2025. Source: SSA.
Unlock the 5-year forecast and compare Ethel against up to 5 other names.
Uniqueness: will there be another Ethel in class?
Ethel scores 68 out of 100 on our uniqueness scale, which blends current rarity with five-year momentum — putting it in the "rare" band. A high score means genuine rarity — your Ethel will likely be the only one in the room, with the occasional spelling-out as the price.
Where Ethel is most common
State-level data for Ethel is sparse in 2025 — the name's footprint is too small for most states to report (the SSA suppresses counts under 5 per state for privacy).
Names like Ethel
Statistically, parents drawn to Ethel tend to be choosing among names with similar popularity arcs, era profiles, and sounds — the closest matches in our model are Muriel, Verna, Edna, Wilma, and Thelma.
MurielVernaEdnaWilmaThelmaBerthaElvaEnid
Rank history (last 25 years)
| Year | Babies named Ethel | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 34 | #4172 |
| 2024 | 27 | #4893 |
| 2023 | 23 | #5390 |
| 2022 | 28 | #4793 |
| 2021 | 27 | #4833 |
| 2020 | 26 | #4880 |
| 2019 | 23 | #5449 |
| 2018 | 32 | #4357 |
| 2017 | 28 | #4811 |
| 2016 | 25 | #5284 |
| 2015 | 12 | #8931 |
| 2014 | 21 | #5993 |
| 2013 | 14 | #8135 |
| 2012 | 15 | #7804 |
| 2011 | 14 | #8196 |
| 2010 | 14 | #8271 |
| 2009 | 15 | #8058 |
| 2008 | 13 | #8965 |
| 2007 | 17 | #7394 |
| 2006 | 13 | #8715 |
| 2005 | 20 | #5999 |
| 2004 | 23 | #5377 |
| 2003 | 24 | #5092 |
| 2002 | 29 | #4280 |
| 2001 | 19 | #5822 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Ethel a popular girl name?
Ethel ranked #4172 among girls in 2025 with 34 babies given the name — outside the top 500, making it an uncommon pick. Ten years earlier it ranked #8931.
When was the name Ethel most popular?
Ethel peaked in 1918, when 8,075 American girls received the name (ranked #28 that year). Since 1918 the name has declined from that high.
How rare is the name Ethel?
In 2025, roughly 1 in 52,941 newborn American girls was named Ethel. It scores 68/100 on our uniqueness scale (rarity blended with momentum), which we classify as "rare".
Data source: U.S. Social Security Administration name statistics, 1880–2025, national and state files. Counts reflect Social Security card applications; names with fewer than 5 occurrences in a state-year are suppressed by the SSA.