Etan
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "long-lived" or "steady".
Name Census estimates that about 298 living Americans carry the first name Etan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Etan today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Etan births was 1983 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Etan. 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 Etan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
298
~ 1 in 1,150,182 Americans
Peak year
1983
19 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,827
Tracked since 1968
Census
Etan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 517 people with the first name Etan, which placed it at #20,108 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
#20,108
National first-name rank
People counted
517
517 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
58.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Etan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Etan is White at 58.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.9%) and Black (9.3%). 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 Etan 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 Etan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.6% · 303
- Hispanic or Latino21.9% · 113
- Black or African American9.3% · 48
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.6% · 34
- Two or more races3.7% · 19
Popularity
Etan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Etan from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 94 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Etan 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 Etan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Etans live
Origin
Meaning and history of Etan
The given name Etan is believed to have its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is a variant spelling of the name Ethan, which is derived from the Hebrew word "eten," meaning "firm," "enduring," or "permanent."
In the Old Testament of the Bible, the name Ethan is mentioned in 1 Kings 4:31 as a wise man who lived during the reign of King Solomon. Some biblical scholars suggest that Ethan may have been one of the authors of the Psalms, specifically Psalm 89.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Etan can be found in the Talmud, a central text of Rabbinic Judaism. The Talmud mentions an individual named Etan HaEzrahi, who lived during the 2nd century CE and was known for his wisdom and scholarship.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Etan or its variants. One such individual was Etan Kalil (born in the 8th century CE), a renowned Jewish poet and scholar from Kairouan, Tunisia. His poetic works were widely celebrated and influenced the development of Hebrew poetry.
Another prominent figure was Etan Levine (1932-2020), an American songwriter and record producer. He co-wrote several hit songs, including "Suspicious Minds" by Elvis Presley and "Killing Me Softly with His Song" by Roberta Flack.
In the field of science, Etan Padan (born 1936) is an Israeli biochemist and molecular biologist known for his research on membrane transport proteins. He has made significant contributions to understanding the mechanisms of bacterial transport systems.
Etan Cohen (born 1974) is an American writer, director, and producer, best known for his work on films such as "Tropic Thunder," "Get Hard," and "Holmes & Watson." He has collaborated with notable comedians like Ben Stiller and Jonah Hill.
Etan Boritzer (born 1959) is an American financial executive and philanthropist. He has served as the Chief Financial Officer for several major companies and is actively involved in various charitable organizations, including those supporting education and healthcare initiatives.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have carried the name Etan or its variants. While the name may have originated from ancient Hebrew roots, it has transcended cultural boundaries and been embraced by people from diverse backgrounds and walks of life.
People
Etan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Etan 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
Etan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Etan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 298 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Etan 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 1,150,182 US residents.
Is Etan a common name?
We classify Etan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 307 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Etan most popular?
The single biggest year for Etan was 1983, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Etan is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Etan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 517 people with the name Etan, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,108 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 Etan 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 Etan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Etan leans strongly male. 503 people counted with this name were male (96.7%), compared with 17 female bearers (3.3%). 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 Etan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Etan is White at 58.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.9%) and Black (9.3%). 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 Etan most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Etan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.6% (303 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 Etan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Etan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Etan 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 Etan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Etan 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 Etan 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 Etan as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.