Ebony
Taken from the English word for the dense black wood, which reached English through Latin and Greek from an Egyptian term for the tree.
Ebony in 2025
Ebony was given to 23 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 9,465th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 144,145 babies born.
The history of Ebony
Ebony reached its highest point in 1982, when 2,315 babies were given the name, ranking 256th that year.
Across the 76 years of records since 1950, 39,453 babies have been named Ebony. Half of them were born before 1986, which places the name's centre of gravity with Millennials.
Ebony by decade
| Decade | Babies named Ebony | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 6 | 7,513 |
| 1960s | 59 | 3,498 |
| 1970s | 6,865 | 348 |
| 1980s | 18,464 | 256 |
| 1990s | 10,235 | 380 |
| 2000s | 2,927 | 1,022 |
| 2010s | 742 | 3,119 |
| 2020s | 155 | 7,367 |
Where Ebony is heading
Ebony has fallen 59% over the past decade, from 56 babies in 2015 to 23 in 2025.
That is less than 5% of its 1982 peak — Ebony is now a rare name in the United States.
Names like Ebony
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Ebony.