Ethaniel vs Ethelene
American parents have registered 1,837 Ethelenes since 1880, against 1,006 Ethaniels. But in 2025 it was Ethaniel that was commoner, 14 babies to fewer than five.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Ethaniel Ethelene
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 96 years in which either name was published, Ethelene for 62 years and Ethaniel for 34 years. The lead changed hands once.
Side by side
| Ethaniel | Ethelene | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 1,006 | 1,837 |
| Most in one year | 61 | 66 |
| Babies in 2025 | 14 | under 5 |
| Estimated living today | 990 | 520 |
| Median age today | 15 | 78 |
| Peak year | 2009 | 1925 |
| Best rank | 2,183rd boys | 913th girls |
| Rank in 2025 | 6,143rd | unranked |
| First recorded | 1982 | 1901 |
| Girls / boys | 0 / 1,006 | 1,837 / 0 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Ethelenes alive today are over 78; half the Ethaniels are over 15. That is 63 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Where each one is strongest
- Ethaniel Texas (5.0×), California (4.3×)
- Ethelene North Carolina (8.9×), Alabama (8.7×), Georgia (8.7×)
How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Ethaniel and Ethelene.