Ethel

English

"noble maiden"

Ethel Origin and Meaning

The name Ethel is a girl's name of English origin meaning "noble maiden".

Ethel is a name we once declared as 'So Far Out They'll Probably Always Be Out,' but with the return of other names on that list and with its new starbaby cred via Lily Allen, its soft sound and admirable meaning, we're not so sure.

At the turn of the last century, when Ethel Barrymore was the belle of Broadway, her first name was wildly popular, a Top 10 name for sixteen years and in the Top 100 until 1939. Other well-known bearers have been musical stars Ethel Merman and Ethel Waters and Robert Kennedy's widow. Not so distinguished: Ethel Mertz on "I Love Lucy".

Ethel fell away from such Old English appellations as Ethelberta, Ethelreda and Ethelinda. Now THOSE, we think we can safely say, are so far out they'll always be out.

Ethel Rank in US Top 1000

# 896 in the US

Ethel Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 695 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Ethel

• 695 Nameberry 2025

20 Names Similar to Ethel

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Ethel.

• Jemima
• Frida
• Prudence
• Maud
• Gertrude
• Augustine
• Hilda
• Blanche
• Edna
• Thelma
• Mildred
• Bernadette
• Magdalene
• Doris
• Dinah
• Marguerite
• Millicent
• Edwina
• Cornelia
• Ursula

Famous People Named Ethel

• Ethel Barrymore (born Ethel Mae Blythe) American actress
• Ethel Clayton American silent film actress
• Ethel May Dell English romance novelist
• Ethel Carow Roosevelt Derby daughter of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt
• Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmerman) American singer and actress
• Ethel Turner Australian novelist
• Ethel Mary Smyth English composer and feminist
• Ethel Skakel Kennedy widow of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy
• Ethel Waters American jazz singer and actress
• Ethel Elizabeth Gee English spy
• Ethel Greenglass Rosenberg American spy
• Ethel Lilian Voynich Irish novelist
• Ethel Shannon American silent film actress
• Ethel Kremer Schwabacher American painter
• Ethel L. Payne American journalist
• Ethel Hays American cartoonist
• Ethel Hannah Catherwood Canadian Olympic athlete
• Ethel Azama American jazz singer
• Ethel Ayler American actress
• Ethel Percy Andrus American educator and founder of AARP
• Ethel Mary Cooper (b. 2011) daughter of singer Lily Allen

The name Ethel in Pop Culture

• Ethel Anderson character on TV's "Brickleberry"
• Ethel Parks character on TV's "Downton Abbey"
• Ethel Mertz character on TV's "I Love Lucy"
• Ethel May Skinner character on British soap "EastEnders"
• Ethel Hallow character in "The Worst Witch" series
• Big Ethel character in Archie Comics
• Ethel Darling character in "American Horror Story: Freak Show"
• Ethel Thayer character in Ernest Thompson's "On Golden Pond"
• Ethel Eldon character in Mildred Keith series
• Short for Ethelinda Ethelberta, Ethelgoda, Etheldred, Ethelwynn, etc.
• Ethel Hardy character in G. A. Henty's "Out on the Pampas"
• Ethel Toffelmeyer character in "The Music Man"
• Ethel Grackle character in "Strange Hill High"