Ethan: boys named per year, 1882 to 2025
Ethan: boys named per year stood at 7,852 in 2025, down 4.3% on the previous period.
The number of American boys named Ethan each year, counted from Social Security card applications back to 1880. Name data is one of the cleanest cultural time series that exists: every point is an actual administrative count, not a survey. Since 1882 the series has ranged from 5.00 (1908) to 22,210 (2004); the latest reading is 7852 for 2025, down from 8201 the period before.
Names carry fashion cycles measured in generations. A spike usually has a traceable trigger, a famous namesake or a character, and the long tails show how slowly a name leaves circulation once parents move on.
Why do early decades look low?
Are rare names included?
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