Ethel

Where Ethel comes from

Short form of names of Old English origin beginning with Ethel-, æþele (“noble”). First used in the 19th century. Cognate to the Germanic Adela and Adele.
— Wiktionary's entry for Ethel
  • Old English
  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1879
    Ethel Barrymore born
    American actress
  2. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #38 among girls — 633 babies in the first year on record.
  3. 1896
    Peak, #6
    3,502 babies named Ethel — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1908
    Ethel Merman born
    American actress and singer
  5. 1950
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #176.
In the dictionary
  • A female given name from Old English, popular at the turn of the 20th century.
Namesakes
  • Ethel Barrymore · American actress, 1879–1959
  • Ethel Merman · American actress and singer, 1908–1984
  • Ethel Lilian Voynich · British writer and musician, 1864–1960
  • Ethel Smyth · English composer and suffragette, 1858–1944
  • Ethel Waters · American blues, jazz and gospel vocalist and actress, 1896–1977

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.