Ethel



Gender:
Origin: English
319 famous people named Ethel found on Wikipedia.
278729 female, 1490 male in US.
Most recent ranking: 4356-th in year 2018
Best ranking: 6-th in year 1896
Used in: English

Meanings

A female given name: from a Germanic word meaning “noble.”.


Ethel (also æthel) is an Old English word meaning "noble". It is frequently attested as the first element in Anglo-Saxon names, both masculine and feminine, e.g. Æthelhard, Æthelred, Æthelwulf; Æthelburg, Æthelflæd, Æthelthryth (Audrey). It corresponds to the Adel- and Edel- in continental names, such as Adolph (Æthelwulf), Adalbert (Albert), Adelheid (Adelaide), Edeltraut and Edelgard. There would be some reason to believe that the word is actually taken from "aedilis" or "aedile", the Latin name of a Roman official, whose function was that of a magistrate and superintendent of public property. It was common that in smaller towns in the Roman era that the only public official was the aedile. Importantly, in later Roman times, the Aedile was in charge of the public treasury. The later clerical Latin translation of "aethel" as "clito" may be a reflection of the fact that there was no such formal position after the Roman civil authority disappeared. "Clito" was from "incluto" and an earlier Greek word that certainly did not mean "noble" in the sense of an inherited class status, but rather famous or illustrious.
Some of the feminine Anglo-Saxon names in Æthel- survived into the modern period (e.g. Etheldred Benett 1776–1845). Ethel was in origin used as a familiar form of such names, but it began to be used as a feminine given name in its own right beginning in the mid-19th century, gaining popularity due to characters so named in novels by W. M. Thackeray (The Newcomes - 1855) and Charlotte Mary Yonge (The Daisy Chain whose heroine Ethel's full name is Etheldred - 1856); the actress Ethel Barrymore - born 1879 - was named after The Newcomes character. Notes & Queries published correspondence about the name Ethel in 1872 because it was in fashion. The feminine name's popularity peaked in the 1890. In the United States, it was the 7th most commonly given girl's name in the year 1894. Its use gradually declined during the 20th century, falling below rank 100 by 1940, and below rank 1000 in 1976. Ethel was also occasionally used as a male given name during the period of ca. the 1880s to 1910s, but never with any frequency (never rising above rank 400, or 0.02% in popularity)
People called Ethel
Ethel D. Allen (1929-1981), the first African-American woman to serve on Philadelphia City Council
Ethel Anderson (1883–1958), Australian poet, essayist, novelist and painter
Ethel Percy Andrus (1884–1967), educator and founder of AARP
Ethel Armes (1876–1945), American journalist and historian
Ethel Armitage (1873–1957), British archer and 1908 Olympic competitor
Ethel Ayler (born 1934), American stage and film actress
Ethel Azama (1934–1984), American jazz and popular singer
Ethel Barrymore (1879–1959), American stage and screen actress
Ethel Bentham (1861–1931), English doctor, politician and suffragette
Ethel Blondin-Andrew (born 1951), Canadian politician and parliamentarian
Ethel Catherwood (1908–1987), American high jump gold medalist in the 1928 Olympics
Ethel Clayton (1882–1966), American silent film actress
Ethel Roosevelt Derby (1891–1977), younger daughter of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt
Ethel Hatch (1869-1975), muse of Lewis Carroll
Ethel Hays (1892–1989), American cartoonist and illustrator
Ethel Kennedy (born 1928), American widow of Robert F. Kennedy
Ethel Lang (1900-2015), British supercentenarian and the last Victorian
Ethel MacDonald (1909–1960), Scottish anarchist, activist and propagandist
Ethel Merman (1908–1984), American actress and singer
Ethel L. Payne (1911–1991), African American journalist
Ethel Rosenberg (1915–1953), American executed for espionage
Ethel Schwabacher (1903–1984), American abstract expressionist painter
Ethel Shannon (1898–1951), American silent film actress
Ethel Smith (organist) (1902–1996), American organist and recording artist
Ethel Smyth (1858–1944), English composer and women's suffrage leader
Ethel Teare (1894–1959), American silent film actress.
Ethel Grey Terry (1882–1931), American silent film actress
Ethel Turner (1872–1958), Australian novelist and children's writer
Ethel Lilian Voynich (1864–1960), English novelist and musician
Ethel Waters (1896–1977), American blues and jazz vocalist and actress
Fictional characters
Big Ethel, from Archie Comics
Ethel Hallow, from The Worst Witch book series by Jill Murphy
Ethel Mertz, from the television program I Love Lucy
Ethel Mertz, a Richard Christy character from The Howard Stern Show
Ethel Skinner, in the British soap opera EastEnders
Ethel Thayer, a character from On Golden Pond
Ethel Blackmore, from Subnormality


Fem. proper name, originally a shortening of Old English Etheldred, Ethelinda, etc., in which the first elements mean "noble, nobility," from Proto-Germanic *athala- (see atheling).


Righteous, noble.

Famous People: 319 found on Wikipedia.
Popularity Name Birth Year Description
1 Ethel Skakel Kennedy 1928 Attorney General of the United States and widow of Robert F. Kennedy
2 Ethel Merman 1908 Actress, singer
3 Ethel Barrymore 1879 Actress
4 Ethel Waters 1896 American blues, jazz and gospel vocalist and actress
5 Big Ethel
6 Ethel Roosevelt Derby 1891 Daughter of Theodore Roosevelt
7 Ethel Mertz
8 Ethel Smyth 1858 English composer
9 Ethel du Pont 1916 American heiress and socialite
10 Ethel Skinner 1914
11 Ethel Booba 1976 Filipino actress
12 Ethel Griffies 1878 British Actress
13 Ethel Hedgeman Lyle 1887 Founder of Alpha Kappa Alpha
14 Ethel Hallow
15 Ethel Le Neve 1883 Mistress of Dr Crippen
16 Ethel Percy Andrus 1884 American educator
17 Ethel Mannin 1900 English writer
18 Ethel Ayler 1934 American actress
19 Ethel Lina White 1876 British writer
20 Ethel Beatty
21 Ethel V. Mars 1884 American businesswoman and racehorse owner
22 Ethel Ennis 1932 American musician
23 Ethel Gee 1914 British spy for the Soviet Union
24 Ethel Flora Fortune 1883 Titanic passenger
25 Ethel Catherwood 1908 Canadian track and field athlete
26 Ethel Byrne 1883 American nurse
27 Ethel Clayton 1882 Actress
28 Ethel Watts Mumford 1878 American writer
29 Ethel Armes 1876 American journalist/historian
30 Ethel L. Payne 1911 American journalist
31 Ethel Farrell 1902
32 Ethel Ernistine Harper 1903 Actress
33 Ethel Snowden 1881 Socialist, feminist, women's suffrage and pacifist campaigner
34 Ethel Cuff Black 1890 American educator and co-founder of Delta Sigma Theta
35 Ethel Gordon Fenwick 1857 British nurse
36 Ethel M. Dell 1881 British writer
37 Ethel Lavenu 1842 British actress
38 Ethel Blondin-Andrew 1951 Canadian politician
39 Ethel Shutta 1896 Actress, singer
40 Ethel Owen 1893 Actress
41 Ethel Mairet 1872 British craft hand loom weaver
42 Ethel Leckwith
43 Ethel Sands 1873 American-born British artist, socialite, patron
44 Ethel Lilian Voynich 1864 British writer and musician
45 Ethel Shannon 1898 Actress
46 Ethel Thomson Larcombe 1879 English badminton and tennis player
47 Ethel Azama 1934 American jazz and popular singer and recording artist who was of Okinawan ancestry
48 Ethel Rosenberg 1915 American woman executed for spying for the Soviet Union
49 Ethel Hays 1892 Cartoonist
50 Ethel Bellamy 1881 English astronomical computer and seismologist
51 Ethel Soliven Timbol 1940 Filipino journalist
52 Ethel Mobley 1920 American stock car racing driver
53 Ethel Reed 1874 American artist
54 Ethel Weed 1906 American military officer who advocated for the rights of Japanese women during the Allied occupation of Japan following World War II
55 Ethel Pedley 1859 Australian writer
56 Ethel Grandin 1894 Actress
57 Ethel Anderson 1883 Early twentieth century Australian poet
58 Ethel Benjamin 1875 New Zealand lawyer
59 Ethel MacDonald 1909 Scottish anarchist
60 Ethel Wilson 1888 Canadian writer
61 Ethel Schwabacher 1903 American artist
62 Ethel Wales 1878 Actress
63 Ethel Grey Terry 1882 American actress
64 Ethel Post-Parrish
65 Ethel Léontine Gabain 1883 British artist
66 Ethel D. Allen 1929 American politician and physician
67 Ethel V. Ashton 1896
68 Ethel Lackie 1907 American swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, former world record-holder
69 Ethel Walker 1861 Scottish painter
70 Ethel Franklin Betts 1878 American artist
71 Ethel Leginska 1886 British composer
72 Ethel Mutharika First lady of Malawi
73 Ethel Brilliana Tweedie 1862 English writer, photographer and artist
74 Ethel Smith 1907 Canadian sprinter
75 Ethel Swanbeck 1893 American politician
76 Ethel Krauze 1954 Mexican writer
77 Ethel Barrett 1913 Christian author and storyteller
78 Ethel Bush 1916 British police officer
79 Ethel Hatch 1869 British artist
80 Methyl Ethel
81 Ethel Jones Mowbray Alpha Kappa Alpha founder
82 Ethel Moorhead 1870 British suffragette and painter
83 Ethel Locke-King 1864 British businessman
84 Ethel D. Jacobs 1910 American racehorse owner
85 Ethel Bentham 1861 British medical doctor and Labour Party M.P.
86 Ethel Wright Mohamed 1906 American artist
87 Ethel Carrick 1872 (1872-1952) artist
88 Ethel Myers 1881 American sculptor
89 Ethel Cooper 1871 Australian musician
90 Ethel Stark 1910 Violinist and conductor
91 Ethel T. Wead Mick 1881 Founder of the Masonic Youth Organization
92 Ethel Newbold 1882 English epidemiologist and statistician
93 Ethel Whibley 1861 British model
94 Ethel Person 1934 American psychiatrist
95 Ethel McMillan 1904 New Zealand politician
96 Ethel Gabriel 1921 American record producer
97 Ethel Muckelt 1885 Figure skater
98 Ethel Magafan 1916 American painter
99 Ethel Finnie 1898 American classic female blues singer
100 Ethel Grenfell, baronessa Desborough 1867 British Lady of the Bedchamber (1867-1952)
101 Ethel Dench Puffer Howes 1872 American psychologist
102 Ethel Matala de Mazza 1968 German specialist in literature and university teacher
103 Ethel Spowers 1890 Australian artist
104 Ethel Carnie Holdsworth 1886 British writer
105 Ethel Lynn Beers 1827 American writer
106 Ethel Jackson 1877 American actress
107 Ethel Merston 1882 Convert to Hinduism
108 Ethel Seath 1879 Canadian painter
109 Ethel Charles 1871 Architect
110 Ethel Rojo 1937 Actress
111 Ethel Browne Harvey 1885 Biologist
112 Ethel Shakespear 1871 English geologist, public servant and philanthropist
113 Ethel Warwick 1882 Actress and model
114 Ethel Furman 1893 American architect
115 Ethel Barns 1874 British composer and violinist
116 Agnes Ethel 1846 Actress
117 Ethel Bliss Platt 1881 US tennis player
118 Ethel Rhind 1877
119 Ethel Coleridge 1883 British actress
120 Ethel McGary 1907 American swimmer, Olympic athlete, former world record-holder
121 Ethel McClellan Plummer 1888 American artist
122 Ethel G. Hofman 1939 American journalist
123 Ethel Colburn Mayne 1865 Irish writer
124 Ethel Wilson Gammon 1916 American educator and museum director
125 Ethel Marion Gould 1895 New Zealand politician
126 Ethel Sargant 1863 Botanist
127 Ethel Remey 1895 American actress
128 Ethel Morgan Smith 1952
129 Ethel McCreary All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player
130 Ethel Bailey Higgins 1866 American botanist
131 Ethel Bristowe 1862
132 Ethel Winter 1924 American ballet dancer
133 Ethel Hall 1898 American actress
134 Ethel Marshall 1924 Badminton player
135 Ethel Berry 1873 Prominent female figure of the Klondike Gold Rush
136 Ethel Knight Kelly 1875 Actor, writer
137 Ethel Zoe Bailey 1889 American botanist (1889-1983)
138 Ethel Wormald 1901 British politician and educationist; 2nd woman Lord Mayor of Liverpool
139 Ethel Cochrane 1937 Canadian politician
140 Ethel Funches 1913
141 Ethel Teare 1894 American actress
142 Ethel May Halls 1882 Actress
143 Ethel Rolt Wheeler 1869 Irish writer
144 Ethel Hill 1898 American screenwriter
145 Ethel Mary Wood 1876
146 Ethel Bruce 1879
147 Ethel May Dixie 1876 South African artist
148 Ethel Johnson 1908 English sprinter
149 Ethel Thomas 1876 English botanist
150 Ethel Tawse Jollie 1874 Rhodesian politician
151 Ethel Scott 1907 British sprinter
152 Ethel Sylvia Wilson 1902 Canadian politician
153 Ethel M. Elderton 1878 British mathematician
154 Ethel Edwards 1914 American artist
155 Ethel Jewett 1877 American actress
156 Ethel Romig Fuller 1883 American poet
157 Ethel Bergstresser McCoy 1893 American philatelist
158 Ethel Wright 1884 American actress
159 Ethel Collins Dunham 1883 American physician
160 Ethel Turner 1868
161 Ethel Mars 1876 An American artist
162 Ethel Glenn Hier 1889 Pianist and composer
163 Ethel Dickenson 1880 Canadian nurse
164 Ethel Currie 1899 Scottish geologist
165 Ethel D Cofie Technology Entreprenuer
166 Ethel Ray Nance 1899 US civil rights activist
167 Ethel Moustacchi 1933 French chemist
168 Ethel Hurlbatt 1866 British academic
169 Ethel Portnoy 1927 Dutch writer
170 Ethel Minor 1922 American activist
171 Ethel Lang 1902 Australian actress
172 Ethel Alpenfels 1907 American anthropologist
173 Ethel Harrington 1907 American sprinter
174 Ethel Raybould 1899
175 Ethel R. Harraden 1857 Pianist and composer
176 Ethel Ronzoni Bishop 1890 American biochemist
177 Ethel Scull 1921
178 Ethel Margaret Phillips 1876 British medical missionary
179 Ethel Spears 1903 American painter, muralist, and lithographer
180 Ethel Anson Peckham 1879 Botanist (1879-1965)
181 Ethel Brez American screenwriter
182 Ethel Scarborough 1880 Pianist and composer
183 Ethel Irving 1869
184 Ethel Barringer 1883 Australian woman artist
185 Ethel Hobday 1872 Irish musician
186 Ethel Kibblewhite 1873
187 Ethel Atwood 1870 American musician
188 Ethel Bertha Harrison 1851 Essayist
189 Ethel Doidge 1887 Mycologist and bacteriologist
190 Ethel Armitage 1873 British archer
191 Ethel Raby 1914 British long jumper, sprinter and hurdler
192 Ethel Pritchard 1880 Nga Puhi; military and civilian nurse
193 Ethel Baker 1906
194 Ethel, Lady Pearson 1870 British humanitarian
195 Ethel Skeat 1865 English stratigrapher, invertebrate paleontologist, and geologist
196 Ethel Jenner Rosenberg
197 Ethel Koffman 1958 Argentine singer and music educator
198 Ethel Fortner 1907 American writer
199 Ethel Houbiers 1973 French actress
200 Ethel Afamado 1940 Uruguayan writer