boys' name ★ peaked 1921

Earl

Meaning A male given name from English from the English noun earl Gender Boy · 1% girls Rank 2025 #2,236 Trend ↓ Falling 23%

A male given name from English from the English noun earl.

Rank 2025
#2,236
among boys · ↓78 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
63
named Earl · -7% vs 2024
How common
1 in 27,112
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1921
6,797 babies
All-time total
291,421
#128 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Earl popularity over time

291,421 babies have been named Earl since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
2.557.51018801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 13 4,830 4,843 484 – #28
1890s 92 8,297 8,389 839 +73% #20
1900s 136 9,251 9,387 939 +12% #23
1910s 284 40,273 40,557 4,056 +332% #31
1920s 551 63,602 64,153 6,415 +58% #31
1930s 401 44,613 45,014 4,501 -30% #38
1940s 238 39,128 39,366 3,937 -13% #52
1950s 179 32,653 32,832 3,283 -17% #92
1960s 155 20,369 20,524 2,052 -37% #139
1970s 129 11,404 11,533 1,153 -44% #173
1980s 69 7,397 7,466 747 -35% #250
1990s – 3,908 3,908 391 -48% #407
2000s – 1,906 1,906 191 -51% #712
2010s – 1,104 1,104 110 -42% #1,355
2020s (to 2025) – 439 439 73 -34% #1,667

Where Earl is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 60 0.04 outside top 500
2027 58 0.03 outside top 500
2028 56 0.03 outside top 500
2029 54 0.03 outside top 500
2030 53 0.03 outside top 500

Where Earl is most popular

Boys named Earl per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.043 per 1,000. Strongest in Louisiana, Ohio, and Minnesota.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Earl born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Louisiana 8 0.078 +82%
Ohio 18 0.068 +58%
Minnesota 6 0.049 +14%
North Carolina 11 0.043 ≈ national
Wisconsin 5 0.042 ≈ national
Virginia 5 0.026 -39%
Michigan 5 0.024 -43%
Texas 20 0.023 -47%
Pennsylvania 6 0.023 -47%
Illinois 5 0.020 -54%
California 16 0.018 -59%
New York 7 0.016 -62%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Florida – – –
Georgia – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Tennessee – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Earl

Earl is rare for boys in the United States, ranked #2,236 in 2025 with 63 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 291,421 American babies have been named Earl. Its peak came in 1921, when 6,797 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1920s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Earl stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Earl?

The median living Earl is about 68 years old; half are between 55 and 78. An estimated 94 thousand people named Earl are alive in the United States today.

median 68 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Earl year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 – – 63 #2,236
2024 – – 68 #2,158
2023 – – 63 #2,251
2022 – – 78 #1,971
2021 – – 99 #1,667
2020 – – 68 #2,075
2019 – – 97 #1,664
2018 – – 98 #1,649
2017 – – 114 #1,480
2016 – – 110 #1,525
2015 – – 129 #1,355
2014 – – 105 #1,526
2013 – – 98 #1,580
2012 – – 123 #1,371
2011 – – 115 #1,431
2010 – – 115 #1,443
2009 – – 140 #1,258
2008 – – 170 #1,093
2007 – – 170 #1,081
2006 – – 188 #987
2005 – – 183 #953
2004 – – 178 #945
2003 – – 199 #868
2002 – – 202 #826
2001 – – 231 #749
2000 – – 245 #712
1995 – – 321 #570
1990 – – 569 #407
1985 – – 690 #294
1980 11 #6,026 901 #250
1975 14 #4,414 1,024 #212
1970 15 #3,917 1,630 #173
1965 13 #3,602 1,949 #156
1960 16 #3,124 2,565 #139
1955 18 #2,654 3,246 #106
1950 17 #2,461 3,589 #92
1945 25 #1,670 3,567 #71
1940 23 #1,647 3,944 #52
1935 46 #1,021 4,224 #46
1930 73 #834 5,567 #38
1925 65 #924 6,436 #31
1920 52 #1,032 6,533 #31
1915 27 #1,375 4,908 #33
1910 8 #1,818 1,109 #33
1905 16 #936 904 #29
1900 12 #1,127 1,037 #28
1895 10 #1,074 851 #23
1890 – – 744 #24
1885 – – 481 #36
1880 – – 335 #52

Famous people named Earl

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Earl Sweatshirt Earl Sweatshirt American rapper (born 1994) Contemporary
  2. 2 Earl Warren Earl Warren Chief justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969 1891–1974 · 19th century
  3. 3 Earl Holliman Earl Holliman American actor (1928–2024) Contemporary
  4. 4 Earl Monroe Earl Monroe American basketball player (born 1944) Contemporary
  5. 5 Earl Scruggs Earl Scruggs American musician (1924–2012) Contemporary
  6. 6 Earl Boen Earl Boen American actor (1941–2023) b. 1945 · Contemporary
  7. 7 Earl Watson Earl Watson American basketball coach (born 1979) Contemporary
  8. 8 Earl Boykins Earl Boykins American basketball player (born 1976) Contemporary
  9. 9 Earl Van Dorn Earl Van Dorn Confederate States Army general 1820–1863 · 19th century
  10. 10 Earl Hines Earl Hines American jazz pianist (1903–1983) Contemporary
  11. 11 Earl Tupper American businessman and inventor (1907–1983) Contemporary
  12. 12 Earl Ray Tomblin Earl Ray Tomblin Governor of West Virginia from 2010 to 2017 b. 1952 · Contemporary
  13. 13 Earl Clark Earl Clark American basketball player (born 1988) Contemporary
  14. 14 Earl Derr Biggers Earl Derr Biggers American novelist and playwright 1884–1933 · 19th century
  15. 15 Earl Cameron Earl Cameron Bermudian actor (1917–2020) Contemporary
  16. 16 Earl Wilbur Sutherland Jr. Earl Wilbur Sutherland Jr. American pharmacologist and biochemist (1915–1974) Contemporary
  17. 17 Earl Thomson Earl Thomson Canadian hurdler (1895–1971) 19th century

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Earl, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Earl?

The median living Earl is about 68 years old. Half of all living Earls are between 55 and 78 years old.

How many people named Earl are alive today?

An estimated 94 thousand people named Earl are alive in the United States, based on 291,421 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Earl mean?

A male given name from English from the English noun earl.

How popular is the name Earl in 2025?

Earl ranked #2,236 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 63 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Earl?

291,421 babies have been named Earl in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Earl most popular?

Earl peaked in 1921, when 6,797 newborns received the name.

Is Earl a boy or girl name?

Earl is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Earl rising or falling?

Earl is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Earl become more popular?

Earl is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 53 boys named Earl in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Earl?

Well-known people named Earl include Earl Sweatshirt (singer), Earl Warren (judge), Earl Holliman (actor).

Names like Earl

Names that sound and feel close to Earl: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Earl with similar names → More names starting with E →