Name meaning & stats
Ethel
Ethel means “noble” (Old English origin). 39,877 US babies since 1940, peak 1940.
What it means
“noble”
Old EnglishWell documented
In US birth records
Peak year: 1940
39,877 US babies were named Ethel between 1940 and 2025.
Careers
Not enough notable people named Ethel (or its spelling family) to say anything reliable yet. That's a gap in the data, not the name.
Spelling family
Ethel is the main spelling
- Ethel 99%
- Ethyl 1%
Names that sound the same, grouped by Heyotag. Share of US babies since 1940.
Name twins (peaked around 1940)