How common is the name Ethan?

403,009 people in the United States have the first name Ethan, about 1 in 749. It ranks #116 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

ETHAN

#116

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
403,009
About
1 in 749
This common or more
32.5%
Who bears it

Of the 403,009 people named Ethan, 65.8% reported their origin as White, 15.9% as Hispanic or Latino and 6.9% as Asian or Pacific Islander. Virtually all are male (99.8%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Ethan peaked in 2004, when 22,336 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18822025
Peak year
2004
Births that year
22,336
In 2025*
7,859 ▼65%
Recorded as
almost entirely male

At least 488,144 babies have been given the name since 1882. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Ethan by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 2000s, when it ranked #9. The largest share of babies named Ethan, 58.3%, were born between 1997 and 2012, as Generation Z.

1880s#2,03030
1890s#2,57031
1900s#3,75917
1910s#2,809184
1920s#3,148233
1930s#2,898225
1940s#2,953254
1950s#2,278553
1960s#1,3851,601
1970s#7455,301
1980s#47510,525
1990s#10567,058
2000s#9202,208
2010s#11149,276
2020s#2750,648
Before 19010%
Greatest Generation 1901–270.1%
Silent Generation 1928–450.1%
Baby boom 1946–640.3%
Generation X 1965–801.4%
Millennials 1981–969.6%
Generation Z 1997–1258.3%
2013 and later30.2%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Ethan is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Ethan has been most common in Nevada (2.1×), Alaska (1.8×), and Utah (1.7×), and least common in District of Columbia (0.56×).

484,921 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Ethan

#114 Megan · 409,941#115 Frank · 407,086#117 Hannah · 402,723#118 Teresa · 402,455

Spelled almost the same

5 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Ethan, most common first.

#5,135 Ethen · 3,408#10,917 Ethyn · 1,198#20,031 Etan · 520#29,086 Ethin · 306#30,018 Ethon · 292

Also a last name

As a last name, Ethan ranks #103,399 of 156,621, with 185 people. See Ethan as a last name

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