Idell
A feminine name of American origin referring to a form of idyll.
Name Census estimates that about 459 living Americans carry the first name Idell. It is a predominantly female name (98.9% of registrations). The average person named Idell today is around 78 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Idell births was 1921 (132 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Idell. 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 Idell is about 78 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Idells were born before 1958.
People living today
459
~ 1 in 746,741 Americans
Peak year
1921
132 babies that year
Average age
78
years old
1936 SSA rank
#3,787
Tracked since 1880
Census
Idell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 671 people with the first name Idell, which placed it at #16,695 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
#16,695
National first-name rank
People counted
671
671 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
63.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Idell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Idell is Black at 63.2%. The next largest groups are White (32.0%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Idell 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 Idell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American63.2% · 424
- White32.0% · 215
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 19
- Two or more races1.8% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Idell
Idell leans heavily female at 98.9% of total registrations, but 38 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Idell as a male name
- Ranked #3,787 in 1936
- 5 male births in 1936
- Peak: 1921 (7 births)
Idell as a female name
- Ranked #9,509 in 1981
- 6 female births in 1981
- Peak: 1921 (125 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Idell leans strongly female. 617 people counted with this name were female (91.7%), compared with 56 male bearers (8.3%).
Popularity
Idell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Idell from the 1880s through to the 1980s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 953 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
Idell 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 Idell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Idells live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi recorded the most babies named Idell, while West Virginia, Virginia, Oklahoma recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 103 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Idell
The given name Idell has its origins in the English and German languages. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "idel," which means "empty" or "fruitless," and the Old German word "idil," meaning "noble" or "highborn." This name was particularly popular during the Middle Ages, between the 5th and 15th centuries.
Idell was a name commonly used in England and parts of Germany during the medieval period. Some scholars suggest that it may have been associated with the concept of humility or modesty, as the name implied a lack of pride or vanity. However, the German interpretation also lent it a sense of nobility and distinction.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Idell can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. This document lists an individual named Idell as a landowner in the county of Norfolk. Unfortunately, little is known about this person beyond their name and landholdings.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Idell. One prominent figure was Idell Pyle (1920-1944), an American journalist and war correspondent during World War II. She was one of the first female journalists to be killed in action while covering the war in Europe. Another noteworthy Idell was Idell Low (1886-1964), an American actress and vaudeville performer who appeared in several silent films in the early 20th century.
In the realm of literature, Idell Webber (1889-1977) was an American author and educator who wrote several books on educational theory and children's literature. She is best known for her work "Romances of Life" published in 1924. Additionally, Idell Smyer (1908-1997) was an American painter and artist whose works were exhibited in various galleries across the United States.
Another notable figure was Idell Haizlip (1936-1994), an American author and civil rights activist. She wrote the critically acclaimed book "The Sweeter the Juice," which chronicled her family's history and their experiences as African Americans in the United States. Haizlip's work shed light on the complexities of racial identity and the struggles faced by marginalized communities.
While the name Idell has diminished in popularity in recent times, its historical significance and unique blend of meanings from different linguistic roots make it a fascinating and intriguing name from the past.
People
Idell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Idell as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with I
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Idell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Idell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 459 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Idell 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 746,741 US residents.
Is Idell a common name?
We classify Idell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,463 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Idell most popular?
The single biggest year for Idell was 1921, when 132 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Idell 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 Idell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 671 people with the name Idell, or 0.22 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,695 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 Idell 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 Idell?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Idell leans strongly female. 617 people counted with this name were female (91.7%), compared with 56 male bearers (8.3%). 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 Idell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Idell is Black at 63.2%. The next largest groups are White (32.0%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Idell most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Idell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.2% (424 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 Idell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Idell a female name?
Yes, 98.9% of people registered as Idell 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 Idell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Idell 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 Idell 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 named Idell?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.