Ethel

femaleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Ethel: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Ethel: Recorded since 1964, it reached #217 in 1969, and it stood at #412 in 2024.

2registrars recorded it
49times a registrar ranked it
61years from first to last
#217highest recorded position
15groupings it qualifies for

Region

Rising

among girls in England and Wales · 2000–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
2000	#3247
2003	#4373
2004	#3725
2005	#3382
2006	#4157
2007	#5201
2008	#5545
2009	#4564
2010	#5707
2011	#3185
2012	#2969
2013	#2460
2014	#3514
2015	#1452
2016	#1834
2017	#1105
2018	#1111
2019	#1389
2020	#1687
2021	#1195
2022	#1383
2023	#1169
2024	#980

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

RisingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in Republic of Ireland in 26 of the 61 years from 1964 to 2024.

In 2024: #412 among girls in Republic of Ireland, #980 among girls in England and Wales.

Official data from 2 national registrars across 2 regions, 1964–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1964
First recorded at #222 among girls in Republic of Ireland in 1964 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Girls
Highest recorded1964–2024
Highest recorded position: #217 among girls in Republic of Ireland, in 1969 (recorded 1964–2024).
Republic of Ireland · Girls
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #980 among girls in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Girls

Ethel appears in 2 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Girls, which has ranked it in 26 years beginning in 1964, and has registered 178 births with the name.

Ethel across 2 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Ethel's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
Republic of Ireland · Girls	#222 (1964)	#217 (1969)	#412 (2024)	26 of 61	178 (1964–2024)	17 (1969)
England and Wales · Girls	#3247 (2000)	#980 (2024)	#980 (2024)	23 of 25	318 (2000–2024)	36 (2024)

Ethel by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Ethel in Republic of Ireland · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1960sbusiest	65	6 of 10	11
1970s	67	9 of 10	7
1980s	23	6 of 10	4
1990s	3	1 of 10	3
2000s	3	1 of 10	3
2020s	17	3 of 10	6

Across Republic of Ireland · Girls, the 1960s were its busiest decade — the 6 years of it this list covers, averaging 11 births a year.

See the names Republic of Irelandhas recorded the most births with →

Ethel appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1964 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #217 in Republic of Ireland in 1969.

Ethel's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2024	England and Wales	female	#980	36	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	female	#1169	28	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	female	#1383	23	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	female	#1195	28	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	female	#1687	17	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	female	#1389	22	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	female	#1111	31	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	female	#1105	31	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	female	#1834	16	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	female	#1452	22	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	female	#3514	6	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	female	#2460	10	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	female	#2969	8	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	female	#3185	7	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	female	#5707	3	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	female	#4564	4	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	female	#5545	3	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	female	#5201	3	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	female	#4157	4	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	female	#3382	5	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	female	#3725	4	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	female	#4373	3	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	female	#3247	4	High	Verified
2024	Republic of Ireland	female	#412	9	High	Verified
2023	Republic of Ireland	female	#625	5	High	Verified
2020	Republic of Ireland	female	#834	3	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	female	#862	3	High	Verified
1992	Republic of Ireland	female	#523	3	High	Verified
1987	Republic of Ireland	female	#488	3	High	Verified
1986	Republic of Ireland	female	#521	3	High	Verified
1984	Republic of Ireland	female	#516	3	High	Verified
1983	Republic of Ireland	female	#476	4	High	Verified
1982	Republic of Ireland	female	#399	6	High	Verified
1980	Republic of Ireland	female	#483	4	High	Verified
1978	Republic of Ireland	female	#362	7	High	Verified
1977	Republic of Ireland	female	#348	8	High	Verified
1976	Republic of Ireland	female	#497	3	High	Verified
1975	Republic of Ireland	female	#297	10	High	Verified
1974	Republic of Ireland	female	#490	3	High	Verified
1973	Republic of Ireland	female	#282	12	High	Verified
1972	Republic of Ireland	female	#389	5	High	Verified
1971	Republic of Ireland	female	#277	10	High	Verified
1970	Republic of Ireland	female	#282	9	High	Verified
1969	Republic of Ireland	female	#217	17	High	Verified
1968	Republic of Ireland	female	#225	13	High	Verified
1967	Republic of Ireland	female	#253	8	High	Verified
1966	Republic of Ireland	female	#256	8	High	Verified
1965	Republic of Ireland	female	#251	8	High	Verified
1964	Republic of Ireland	female	#222	11	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 2 registrars between 1964 and 2024, ranked in 45 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #217, first reached in 1969.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 36 births, registered in England and Wales in 2024.

Its record falls into 7 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 7 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 2000, and 36 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Etana · #1807, 16y
Ethan · #4, 37y
Ethna · #202, 21y
Etienne · #711, 29y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 2 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Niclas · #217, 46y
Freda · #218, 50y
Evin · #215, 48y
Juliane · #212, 40y

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1960 and 1969.

Rodger · #217, 16y
Attracta · #218, 16y
Canice · #216, 20y
Catrine · #218, 35y

Ethel was ranked #217 in Republic of Ireland · Girls in 1969. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Ethel and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Ethel without appearing here.

Ethel moved ahead of

Finley Compare
In 2014 they stood at #3514 and #2862 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2015 that had become #1452 and #5730.
Tyler Compare
In 2014 they stood at #3514 and #3160 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2015 that had become #1452 and #5730.
Donna Compare
In 2014 they stood at #3514 and #3514 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2015 that had become #1452 and #4736.
Lorraine Compare
In 2014 they stood at #3514 and #2464 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2015 that had become #1452 and #4736.

Moved ahead of Ethel

Frida Compare
In 2002 they stood at #3247 and #3912 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2003 that had become #4373 and #2727.
Brooke Compare
In 2007 they stood at #476 and #529 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2008 that had become #862 and #75.
Jan Compare
In 2002 they stood at #3247 and #3912 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2003 that had become #4373 and #3594.
Elsie Compare
In 2007 they stood at #282 and #508 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2008 that had become #862 and #403.

Moved the opposite way to Ethel

Ada Compare
Between 1964 and 2024 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Ethel went from #222 to #412 while Ada went from #372 to #50.
Amelia Compare
Between 1964 and 2024 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Ethel went from #222 to #412 while Amelia went from #300 to #8.
Annie Compare
Between 1964 and 2024 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Ethel went from #222 to #412 while Annie went from #112 to #41.
Aoife Compare
Between 1964 and 2024 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Ethel went from #222 to #412 while Aoife went from #206 to #45.

Moved the same way as Ethel

Alison Compare
Between 1964 and 2024 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Ethel went from #222 to #412 and Alison from #146 to #275.
Amanda Compare
Between 1964 and 2024 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Ethel went from #222 to #412 and Amanda from #118 to #631.
Angela Compare
Between 1964 and 2024 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Ethel went from #222 to #412 and Angela from #24 to #372.
Ann Compare
Between 1964 and 2024 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Ethel went from #222 to #412 and Ann from #4 to #556.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1964 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #217 in Republic of Ireland in 1969. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Ethel

Ethel at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Ethel across 2 official records

Ethel by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Ethel appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Names published alongside Ethel

Ethel and the names beside it

Ethel moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Ethel

Moved the opposite way to Ethel

Moved the same way as Ethel

Ethel at a glance

Ethel across 2 official records

Ethel by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Ethel appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Names published alongside Ethel

Ethel and the names beside it

Ethel moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Ethel

Moved the opposite way to Ethel

Moved the same way as Ethel