US baby names · Boys · 1880–2025
Ethan: name popularity by year
How often US parents chose Ethan for a baby boy, year by year, from Social Security Administration records. When it peaked, how long it stayed in the top 10, and which generation it belongs to.
Ethan was one of the 10 most common boys' names in the US in 15 years, between 2002 and 2016, reaching #2. Births peaked in 2004, when 22,210 baby boys were named Ethan, so by peak year it is a Generation Z name.
Ethan in the US top 10, by year
Rank among boys' names, #1 at the top. Blank years: outside the top 10. Dashed line: the year with the most babies named Ethan (2004).
Top-10 years by generation
| Generation | Years in top 10 | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| Generation Z | 8 (2002–2009) | #2 |
| Generation Alpha | 7 (2010–2016) | #2 |
Questions people ask
When was the name Ethan most popular?
By number of babies, in 2004, when 22,210 boys were given the name. By rank, it reached #2 and spent 15 years in the top 10.
What generation is the name Ethan?
Its peak year, 2004, falls in Generation Z (1997–2009). Its 15 top-10 years fall in: Generation Z (8), Generation Alpha (7).
How many people have been named Ethan?
SSA counted 487,389 boys named Ethan born from 1880 to 2025. That is births, not people alive today, and it misses many people born before 1937 who never applied for a Social Security card.
In the top 10 at the same time
Source: US Social Security Administration baby-name data, from Social Security card applications for births in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, 1880–2025. Many people born before 1937 never applied for a card, so early years undercount. Spellings are counted separately. We hold each year's top 10 in rank order and each name's peak-year and all-time counts, so the chart shows rank rather than births per year. This page gives no meaning or origin for the name and no estimate of how many people named Ethan are alive today.