NameCensus.

UK boy's name

Ethan

A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "enduring, firm, strong".

For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.

Ethan is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Ethan popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #48, with 1,086 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2011, with 4,581 births.

This profile covers 77,394 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, NRS Scotland and NISRA Northern Ireland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.

The latest count is about 24% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.

We estimate that about 86,040 living people in the UK are called Ethan. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.

Key insights

  • Ethan ranked #48 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 1,086 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 2011, when 4,581 boys were registered as Ethan.
  • Ethan ranks best in North East in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #1 in 2012.
  • About 86,040 living people in the UK are estimated to have Ethan as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.

Latest rank (E&W)

#48

2024

Births in 2024

1,086

Latest year

Peak year

2011

4,581 births

Estimated living

86,040

2026

Meaning

What does Ethan mean?

The name Ethan is derived from the Hebrew name Etan, which means "firm", "enduring", or "strong". It is believed to have originated in ancient Israel, and the name can be traced back to biblical times.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ethan appears in the Bible, in the First Book of Kings. Ethan the Ezrahite is mentioned as being one of the wisest men of his time, along with Heman, Chalcol, and Darda.

In the Bible's Book of Chronicles, Ethan is also listed as a musician and singer who played the cymbal during the time of King David. This suggests that the name was in use as early as the 10th century BCE.

The name Ethan gained popularity among Jews and later spread to other cultures and languages. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name outside of the Hebrew Bible is Ethan Allen, an American Revolutionary War patriot and leader of the Green Mountain Boys. He was born in 1738 and played a crucial role in the capture of Fort Ticonderoga from the British in 1775.

Another notable figure named Ethan was Ethan A. Hitchcock, an American Army officer who served in the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War. He was born in 1798 and is remembered for his efforts in reforming the military's medical services.

In the literary world, Ethan Frome is the titular character of Edith Wharton's 1911 novel, which explores the themes of isolation, fatality, and the consequences of repressed desires. The novel's protagonist, Ethan Frome, is a farmer living in a fictional town in Massachusetts.

Ethan Allen, the American Revolutionary War patriot and leader, was born in 1737 and died in 1789. Ethan A. Hitchcock, the American Army officer, was born in 1798 and died in 1870. While Ethan Frome is a fictional character, the novel by Edith Wharton was published in 1911.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Ethan over time

The chart below shows babies named Ethan registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.

For Ethan, the clearest high point is 2011. The latest England and Wales figure is 1,086 births in 2024, compared with 4,581 at the peak.

Babies born per year

Ethan
01K2K3K5K199620102024

Decades

Ethan by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Ethan was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.

Decade Average rank Total births Years covered
2020s #43 6,404 5
2010s #19 31,462 10
2000s #18 34,550 10
1990s #60 4,978 4

Geography

Where Ethan is most common

The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Ethan. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.

Ethan ranks best in North East in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #1 in 2012.

North West
669
West Midlands
493
East Midlands
402
Wales
274
North East
236
Scotland
85
Northern Ireland
44

Across the UK

Ethan in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland (NRS)

#54 in 2024

36 years of NRS records, 5,468 total registered

Northern Ireland (NISRA)

#57 in 2024

28 years of NISRA records, 3,818 total registered

Notable bearers

Famous people named Ethan

  • Ethan Nwaneri

    association football player

    English association football player (born 2007)

    2007-

  • Ethan Wheatley

    association football player

    English association football player

    2006-

  • Ethan Hardin

    association football player

    American soccer player

    2003-

  • Ethan Johnston

    association football player

    English association football player

    2002-

  • Ethan Walker

    association football player

    English association football player (born 2002)

    2002-

  • Ethan Wiltshire

    athletics competitor

    British athletics

    2002-

  • Ethan Laird

    association football player

    English association footballer

    2001-

  • Ethan van Leeuwen

    badminton player

    badminton player

    2001-

Related

Names similar to Ethan

FAQ

Ethan: questions and answers

How popular is the name Ethan in the UK right now?

In 2024, Ethan was ranked #48 for boys in England and Wales, with 1,086 births registered.

When was Ethan most popular?

The peak year on record was 2011, with 4,581 babies registered as Ethan in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Ethan?

A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "enduring, firm, strong".

How many people are called Ethan in the UK?

A total of 77,394 babies have been registered as Ethan across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 5,468 more in Scotland and 3,818 in Northern Ireland.

Where is Ethan most common?

In the latest published local rankings, Ethan ranks best in North East, where it placed #1 in 2012. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.

Which records is this page based on?

The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.