Etha
A feminine name of unknown origin, possibly Persian or Sanskrit.
Name Census estimates that about 228 living Americans carry the first name Etha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Etha today is around 78 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Etha births was 1920 (55 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Etha. 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 Etha is about 78 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Ethas were born before 1958.
People living today
228
~ 1 in 1,503,309 Americans
Peak year
1920
55 babies that year
Average age
78
years old
1973 SSA rank
#8,819
Tracked since 1880
Census
Etha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 401 people with the first name Etha, which placed it at #24,134 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
#24,134
National first-name rank
People counted
401
401 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
52.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Etha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Etha is White at 52.9%. The next largest groups are Black (34.4%) and Hispanic (8.5%). 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 Etha 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 Etha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White52.9% · 212
- Black or African American34.4% · 138
- Hispanic or Latino8.5% · 34
- Two or more races1.7% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 4
Popularity
Etha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Etha from the 1880s through to the 1970s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 389 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
Etha 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 Etha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ethas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. Texas, Mississippi, Alabama recorded the most babies named Etha, while Tennessee, North Carolina, Arkansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 17 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Etha
The given name Etha has its origins rooted in ancient Germanic languages, particularly in the Old English and Old Norse dialects. It is believed to have been derived from the Old English word "ead," meaning "prosperity" or "fortune," and the Old Norse word "eth," meaning "homeland" or "inheritance." This combination suggests that the name Etha was initially bestowed upon individuals with the intention of wishing them a prosperous life and a strong connection to their ancestral roots.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Etha can be traced back to the 8th century, when it appeared in various Anglo-Saxon manuscripts and chronicles. One notable mention is found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which documents the life of Etha, a young nobleman who fought alongside King Alfred the Great during the Viking invasions in the late 9th century.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Etha gained popularity among the nobility and upper classes of Germanic societies. It was particularly favored by the ruling dynasties of England, such as the House of Wessex and the House of Normandy. One prominent figure bearing this name was Etha of Mercia, a powerful Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who lived in the 10th century and played a significant role in shaping the political landscape of the time.
As the Germanic tribes migrated and settled across Europe, the name Etha also found its way into other cultures and languages. In the 12th century, a renowned Italian scholar and philosopher, Etha of Vercelli, made significant contributions to the field of logic and metaphysics, further enhancing the name's recognition.
During the Renaissance period, the name Etha experienced a resurgence in popularity, particularly among the intellectual and artistic circles of Europe. One notable figure was Etha von Buren, a German painter and engraver who lived in the 16th century and is renowned for her intricate woodcut illustrations and portrait engravings.
In the realm of literature, the name Etha gained further prominence through the works of the English poet and playwright, William Shakespeare. In his play "King Lear," one of the characters is named Etha, further solidifying the name's association with the English literary tradition.
As the centuries passed, the name Etha continued to be adopted by individuals from various backgrounds and cultures, each adding their own unique story and legacy to the name's rich tapestry of history. While its usage may have fluctuated over time, the name Etha remains a testament to the enduring cultural exchange and the shared heritage of the Germanic peoples.
People
Etha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Etha 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
Etha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Etha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 228 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Etha 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 1,503,309 US residents.
Is Etha a common name?
We classify Etha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,802 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Etha most popular?
The single biggest year for Etha was 1920, when 55 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Etha is about 78 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Etha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 401 people with the name Etha, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,134 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 Etha 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 Etha?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Etha on both sides of the split. Of the 402 people counted with this name, 85 were male (21.1%) and 317 were female (78.9%). 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 Etha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Etha is White at 52.9%. The next largest groups are Black (34.4%) and Hispanic (8.5%). 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 Etha most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Etha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.9% (212 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 Etha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Etha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Etha 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 Etha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Etha 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 Etha 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 Etha?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.