boy's name
Earl
URL
- Origin English
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 4
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 291,984
Ireland
#365
1981 births
Earl is a boy's name taken from the English noble title, and it is the only rank in the British peerage with a native English name rather than a French one. It peaked in 1921 and charts in one market.
- Earl is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1921, when 6,797 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 52,626 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Earl over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 4,843 |
| 1890s | 8,389 |
| 1900s | 9,387 |
| 1910s | 40,557 |
| 1920s | 64,153 |
| 1930s | 45,014 |
| 1940s | 39,366 |
| 1950s | 32,832 |
| 1960s | 20,524 |
| 1970s | 11,533 |
| 1980s | 7,466 |
| 1990s | 3,908 |
| 2000s | 1,906 |
| 2010s | 1,104 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 439 |
What Earl means
Earl means a nobleman, or a chief. The Old English word originally meant a warrior or a man of rank generally, and narrowed to a specific title only after the Norman Conquest.
Where Earl comes from
Earl is the Old English eorl, which meant a warrior or a man of high birth, and is related to the Old Norse jarl. It is the odd one out in the British peerage: duke, marquess, viscount and baron are all French imports, while earl is the native word the Normans kept because they had no exact equivalent — which is why an earl's wife is a countess, borrowed from the French comtesse, leaving the rank with a mismatched pair. Its use as a given name is American and nineteenth-century, part of a small group of title-names alongside Duke, King and Prince.
Earl in use
Earl peaked in the United States in 1921, when 6,797 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It charts in exactly one of the six markets we track — 2118th in Canada and 2255th in the United States on 63 births — across 291,984 lifetime births. About 1 percent of recorded births are female. Its peak year places it with Clarence, Howard, Ethel and Edna in the 1918 to 1924 cluster.
How popular is Earl?
In 2025, Earl was given to 63 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Earl is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Earl
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Earl also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Earl over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Earl in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Earl
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Earl — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Earl
What does the name Earl mean?
A nobleman or chief — the Old English eorl, originally a warrior or man of rank.
Why is an earl's wife a countess?
Earl is the native English word the Normans kept; the feminine was borrowed from the French comtesse, leaving a mismatched pair.
Is Earl a title name?
Yes, one of a small American group alongside Duke, King and Prince.
How popular is Earl?
2255th in the United States, down from a 1921 peak of 6,797 births.
Is Earl a girl's or a boy's name?
Earl is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Earl?
Earl has 1 syllable.
Is Earl a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Earl currently ranks #2,118 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.