Early
From Old English meaning "before the usual or proper time".
Name Census estimates that about 1,346 living Americans carry the first name Early. It is a predominantly male name (91.4% of registrations). The average person named Early today is around 67 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Early births was 1921 (99 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Early. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Early is about 67 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Earlys were born before 1969.
People living today
1.3K
~ 1 in 254,647 Americans
Peak year
1921
99 babies that year
Average age
67
years old
2022 SSA rank
#7,917
Tracked since 1880
Census
Early in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,156 people with the first name Early, which placed it at #11,218 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#11,218
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,156 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
58.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Early
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Early is Black at 58.8%. The next largest groups are White (30.3%) and Hispanic (4.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Early described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Early at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American58.8% · 680
- White30.3% · 350
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 50
- Two or more races3.7% · 43
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 12
Gender
Gender distribution for Early
Early leans heavily male at 91.4% of total registrations, but 373 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Early as a male name
- Ranked #7,917 in 2022
- 10 male births in 2022
- Peak: 1927 (88 births)
Early as a female name
- Ranked #15,155 in 2013
- 6 female births in 2013
- Peak: 1926 (15 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Early leans strongly male. 956 people counted with this name were male (82.5%), compared with 203 female bearers (17.5%).
Popularity
Early: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Early from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 876 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Early by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Early during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Earlys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Early, while Tennessee, Florida, Arkansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 168 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Early
The name Early is an English given name derived from the Old English word "aerlic," which means "early" or "timely." This name likely originated in the Anglo-Saxon period, spanning from the 5th to the 11th century CE, when Old English was the primary language spoken in parts of what is now England and southern Scotland.
The name Early may have been initially used as a descriptive nickname for someone who was born or arrived early, or for someone who was known for their promptness or timeliness. It could also have been used as a name to express the desire for a child to be born at an auspicious or fortunate time.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name Early was Early the Blessed, an Anglo-Saxon monk who lived in the 7th century CE. He is recorded as a disciple of St. Cuthbert and is venerated as a saint in some Christian traditions.
In the 12th century, Early de Lacy was a notable Anglo-Norman nobleman who served as Lord of Pontefract and was involved in the civil war between King Stephen and Empress Matilda during the Anarchy period in England.
Another historical figure named Early was Early of Berkhamsted, a 13th-century English philosopher and scholar who studied at the University of Paris and wrote works on logic and metaphysics.
During the Renaissance period, Early Tudor was an English playwright and poet who lived in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. He is known for his comedic plays and satirical works that criticized the excesses of the Church and nobility.
In the 18th century, Early Wollstonecraft was a British writer and philosopher who was a pioneering advocate for women's rights and is considered one of the foundational figures of modern feminism. She published influential works such as "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman" in 1792.
While the name Early has not been as widely used as some other English names, it has a rich history that spans several centuries and has been borne by notable figures in various fields, including religion, literature, and philosophy.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Early
People
Early + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Early as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Early: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Early?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,346 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Early going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 254,647 US residents.
Is Early a common name?
We classify Early as "Rare". It ranks above 91.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,352 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Early most popular?
The single biggest year for Early was 1921, when 99 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Early is about 67 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Early in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,156 people with the name Early, or 0.38 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,218 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Early in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Early?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Early leans strongly male. 956 people counted with this name were male (82.5%), compared with 203 female bearers (17.5%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Early?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Early is Black at 58.8%. The next largest groups are White (30.3%) and Hispanic (4.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Early most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Early in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.8% (680 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Early in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Early a male name?
Yes, 91.4% of people registered as Early in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Early still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Early in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Early can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Early as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Early on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.