Girl · Old English, through 19th-century English
Ethel
Say it: ETH-ul
Meaning
A 19th-century English short form of names beginning with Old English æthel 'noble', such as Etheldreda and Ethelburga.
Certainscholars agree on this meaning.
Popular in Britain and the United States around 1900, partly through Victorian novels.
Its wave through time
Fading since the 1890s
In the United States
- 280,273 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1896, about 1 in 68 girls
- 26 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Ethelle
Famous bearers
- Ethel Merman, American singer and actress
- Ethel Barrymore, American actress
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- National census records of the 19th and 20th centuries
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- Well-known works of literature
- 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.