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BabyNames
Girl name#160 of girl names

Ethel

Pronounced EH1 TH AH0 L (ARPABET)

  • 2 syllables
  • Peaked 1918
  • 145 years in use
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How popular is Ethel?

Ethel is a girls' name, and has been in the record since the data starts in 1880. It has been given to 282,955 children — the 160th most common girls' name on record.

It is still recorded, but barely: 251 births across the past decade, against a peak of 8,171 in a single year. That peak was in 1918.

02,5005,0007,50010,00018901920195019802010
1918Girls: 8,171Boys: 35

Characteristics

  • 2 syllables
Phonetic detail
Pronunciations:
EH1 TH AH0 L
Stress pattern:
10
Syllables:
2

Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.

Names like Ethel

Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.

Sibling names for Ethel

Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.

Frequently asked questions

How popular is the name Ethel?
Ethel ranks 160th among girls' names in US records, with 282,955 births since 1880. Over the past decade it accounts for 251.
Is Ethel a unisex name?
No. Ethel is recorded almost entirely as a girls' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.
When was Ethel most popular?
1918, when 8,171 children were given the name. It has been in use for 145 years and is still recorded as of 2024.