Esben
A masculine Danish name derived from the Old Norse name Esben meaning "divine bear" or "bear of the gods".
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the first name Esben. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Esben today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Esben births was 2021 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Esben. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Esben with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
136
~ 1 in 2,520,252 Americans
Peak year
2021
20 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,224
Tracked since 2011
Popularity
Esben: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Esben from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 79 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Esben remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Esben 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 Esben during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Esben
The name Esben is of Danish origin and has its roots in the Old Norse language. It is a compound name derived from the words "ás" meaning "god" and "björn" meaning "bear." The name can be translated to mean "divine bear" or "bear of the gods."
Esben was a popular name during the Viking Age in Scandinavia, particularly in Denmark and Norway. It was often given to boys who were born during the winter months, as the bear was a revered animal associated with strength and courage during the harsh Nordic winters.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Esben can be found in the Danish Chronicle of Eric of Pomerania, written in the 15th century. The chronicle mentions an Esben Galt, a prominent Danish nobleman and military commander who fought in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410.
Another notable figure in history with the name Esben was Esben Andersen Øyenkast (1523-1604), a Danish landowner and member of the Danish Privy Council during the reign of King Christian IV. He played a significant role in the settlement of disputes between the king and the nobility.
In the field of literature, Esben Terman (1892-1953) was a Danish writer and playwright known for his works depicting the lives of ordinary people in Copenhagen. His most famous play, "The Red Meadows," premiered in 1945 and was widely acclaimed.
The name Esben also appears in Norse mythology, where it is mentioned as the name of a warrior who fought alongside the legendary hero Beowulf. This reference can be found in the Old English epic poem "Beowulf," which dates back to between the 8th and 11th centuries.
In more recent times, Esben Lunde Larsen (born 1966) is a Danish politician who served as the Minister of Environment and Food of Denmark from 2015 to 2019. He is a member of the liberal-conservative Venstre political party.
While the name Esben has its origins in Denmark and the Nordic countries, it has also been used in other parts of the world, particularly in areas with strong Danish or Scandinavian cultural influences.
People
Esben + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Esben 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
Esben: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Esben?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 136 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Esben 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 2,520,252 US residents.
Is Esben a common name?
We classify Esben as "Very Rare". It ranks above 68.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 137 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Esben most popular?
The single biggest year for Esben was 2021, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Esben is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Esben in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Esben a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Esben 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 Esben still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Esben 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 Esben 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Esben?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Esben at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.