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Girl · English, from Greek
Ebony
Say it: EB-uh-nee
Meaning
The English word for a dense dark wood, from Greek ebenos, of Egyptian origin.
Certainscholars agree on this meaning.
Became popular in the 1970s, reflecting pride in Black identity; Ebony magazine was founded in 1945.
Its wave through time
A fashion of the 1980s
In the United States
- 39,321 babies given this name since 1950
- At its height in 1982, about 1 in 743 girls
- 28 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Eboni, Ebonie
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.