Eriel
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "vision of God" or "God's lion".
Name Census estimates that about 783 living Americans carry the first name Eriel. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 87.5% of registrations being female. The average person named Eriel today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Eriel births was 2014 (50 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Eriel. 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.
People living today
783
~ 1 in 437,745 Americans
Peak year
2014
50 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2023 SSA rank
#7,684
Tracked since 1986
Census
Eriel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 748 people with the first name Eriel, which placed it at #15,394 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
#15,394
National first-name rank
People counted
748
748 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
51.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Eriel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eriel is Black at 51.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (35.2%) and White (7.4%). 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 Eriel 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 Eriel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American51.1% · 382
- Hispanic or Latino35.2% · 263
- White7.4% · 55
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.1% · 23
- Two or more races2.8% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Eriel
Eriel leans heavily female at 87.5% of total registrations, but 99 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Eriel as a male name
- Ranked #8,446 in 2023
- 9 male births in 2023
- Peak: 2014 (11 births)
Eriel as a female name
- Ranked #7,684 in 2024
- 14 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2014 (39 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Eriel on both sides of the split. Of the 747 people counted with this name, 254 were male (34.0%) and 493 were female (66.0%).
Popularity
Eriel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Eriel from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 312 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Eriel remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Eriel 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 Eriel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Eriels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Texas, Florida, Louisiana recorded the most babies named Eriel, while Mississippi, California, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 14 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Eriel
The name Eriel is of uncertain origin, but it is believed to be derived from the Hebrew language. Some scholars suggest that it is a combination of the Hebrew words "ari," meaning "lion," and "el," which is a reference to God or a powerful being. This would give Eriel the meaning of "lion of God" or "lion of the mighty one."
Another theory proposes that Eriel is a variant spelling of the Hebrew name Ariel, which means "lion of God" or "lioness of God." This name appears in the Bible, specifically in the Book of Isaiah, where it is used as a symbolic name for Jerusalem.
The earliest recorded use of the name Eriel dates back to the late 19th century, when it was occasionally given to children in English-speaking countries. It is possible that the name was inspired by the biblical name Ariel, but with a slightly different spelling.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Eriel was Eriel Franklin Philips (1904-1970), an American businessman and co-founder of Phillips Petroleum Company. He played a significant role in the growth of the oil industry in the United States during the early 20th century.
Another individual named Eriel was Eriel Evelyn Milliken (1912-2010), a British actress and singer who performed on stage and in films during the mid-20th century. She had a successful career in the entertainment industry, particularly in the West End of London.
In the field of literature, Eriel was the first name of Eriel Brissa (1929-2005), a Mexican novelist and poet. She was known for her works exploring themes of identity, feminism, and social issues in Mexican society.
Eriel Arcus (1943-2018) was a South African artist and sculptor who gained recognition for his abstract and figurative works. He was part of the influential Johannesburg art scene during the apartheid era and contributed to the development of contemporary art in South Africa.
Lastly, Eriel Jones (born 1968) is an American actress and singer who has appeared in various television shows and films. She is best known for her roles in the sitcoms "Family Matters" and "The Parkers."
While the name Eriel is not among the most common given names, it has been used throughout history by individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions, reflecting its unique and intriguing origins.
People
Eriel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Eriel 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
Eriel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Eriel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 783 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Eriel 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 437,745 US residents.
Is Eriel a common name?
We classify Eriel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 795 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Eriel most popular?
The single biggest year for Eriel was 2014, when 50 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Eriel is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Eriel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 748 people with the name Eriel, or 0.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,394 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 Eriel 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 Eriel?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Eriel on both sides of the split. Of the 747 people counted with this name, 254 were male (34.0%) and 493 were female (66.0%). 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 Eriel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eriel is Black at 51.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (35.2%) and White (7.4%). 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 Eriel most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Eriel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.1% (382 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 Eriel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Eriel a female name?
Yes, 87.5% of people registered as Eriel in the SSA data are female. 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 Eriel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Eriel 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 Eriel 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 Americans are named Eriel?
See how many people have the name Eriel on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.