Eternity
An abstract concept referring to infinite or unending time.
Name Census estimates that about 2,119 living Americans carry the first name Eternity. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Eternity today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Eternity births was 2009 (103 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Eternity. 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 Eternity with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Eternity is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 15 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
2.1K
~ 1 in 161,753 Americans
Peak year
2009
103 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,215
Tracked since 1990
Census
Eternity in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,311 people with the first name Eternity, which placed it at #10,252 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
#10,252
National first-name rank
People counted
1.3K
1,311 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
39.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Eternity
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eternity is Black at 39.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (27.2%) and White (20.1%). 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 Eternity 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 Eternity at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American39.0% · 511
- Hispanic or Latino27.2% · 356
- White20.1% · 264
- Two or more races9.2% · 121
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.4% · 31
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 28
Popularity
Eternity: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Eternity from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 805 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Eternity remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Eternity 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 Eternity during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Eternitys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 17 states and territories. Texas, California, New York recorded the most babies named Eternity, while Washington, Virginia, South Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 47 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Eternity
The name Eternity is derived from the Latin word "aeternitas," which means "endless time" or "everlasting." It originates from the concept of eternity, which has been a significant philosophical and religious concept across various cultures.
In ancient Greek philosophy, the concept of eternity was explored by thinkers like Plato and Aristotle. They discussed the idea of an eternal and unchanging realm beyond the physical world, which they believed was the realm of pure forms or ideas. The Greek word "aion" was used to describe eternity or an infinitely long period of time.
In Christianity, the concept of eternity is closely tied to the idea of eternal life and the belief in an everlasting existence with God after death. The name Eternity may have been used as a symbolic representation of this belief, reflecting the hope for an eternal life beyond this world.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Eternity comes from the 17th century, when it was used as a given name in England. One notable example is Eternity Philpot, an English Puritan who lived from 1619 to 1684. She was known for her religious writings and her dedication to the Puritan cause.
Another historical figure with the name Eternity was Eternity Wilkinson, an English writer and poet who lived from 1795 to 1868. She published several works of poetry and was known for her romantic and philosophical writings.
In the 19th century, the name Eternity gained popularity among some Christian communities, particularly those with a strong emphasis on the concept of eternal life. One example is Eternity Bunting, an American Baptist minister who lived from 1816 to 1892. He was known for his passionate preaching and his advocacy for social justice issues.
Moving into the 20th century, the name Eternity appeared in various literary works and popular culture. Eternity Regnery was an American author and publisher who lived from 1904 to 1998. She wrote several books on conservative politics and was a prominent figure in the conservative movement in the United States.
Another notable individual with the name Eternity was Eternity Philbrick, an American artist and sculptor who lived from 1932 to 2017. She was known for her abstract and minimalist sculptural works, which often explored themes of time and the eternal.
While the name Eternity has not been as commonly used as some other names, it has held a unique and symbolic significance throughout history, reflecting the human desire to contemplate and understand the concept of eternity and the eternal realm.
People
Eternity + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Eternity 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
Eternity: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Eternity?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,119 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Eternity 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 161,753 US residents.
Is Eternity a common name?
We classify Eternity as "Rare". It ranks above 93.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,145 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Eternity most popular?
The single biggest year for Eternity was 2009, when 103 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Eternity is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Eternity in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,311 people with the name Eternity, or 0.43 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,252 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 Eternity 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 Eternity?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Eternity leans strongly female. 1,292 people counted with this name were female (98.5%), compared with 20 male bearers (1.5%). 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 Eternity?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eternity is Black at 39.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (27.2%) and White (20.1%). 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 Eternity most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Eternity in the 2020 Census, accounting for 39.0% (511 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 Eternity in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Eternity a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Eternity 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 Eternity still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Eternity 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 Eternity 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 are called Eternity?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.