Ethel

Etymology and historic usage

The word comes from the Old English word æthel, meaning "noble".

It is frequently attested as the first element in Anglo-Saxon names, both masculine and feminine, e.g. Æthelhard, Æthelred, Æthelwulf; Æthelburh, Æthelflæd, Æthelthryth (Audrey). It corresponds to the Adel- and Edel- in continental names, such as Adolf (Æthelwulf), Albert (Adalbert), Adelheid (Adelaide), Edeltraud and Edelgard.

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 William Makepeace 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 1890s. In the United States, it was the 7th most commonly given name for baby girls 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 masculine given name during the 1880s to 1910s, but never with any frequency (never rising above rank 400, or 0.02% in popularity).

People

Ethel Afamado (born 1940), Uruguayan composer, poet, guitarist, and singer-songwriter

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 Arnold (1865–1930), English journalist and suffrage lecturer

Ethel Ayler (1934–2018), 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 Booba (born 1976), Filipino comedian, TV personality, singer and author

Ethel Branch, American attorney and politician

Ethel Cain (born 1998), American singer-songwriter

Fictional characters

Ethel Ambrewster, in the sitcom The Ropers

Ethel Beavers, in the sitcom Parks and Recreation

Ethel Blackmore, in the webcomic Subnormality

Ethel Cain, from Ethel Cain's story.

Ethel Hallow, in The Worst Witch book series by Jill Murphy

Ethel Janowski, in the film Criminally Insane

Ethel Mertz, in the television program I Love Lucy

Ethel Mertz, from The Howard Stern Show

Ethel Muggs, nicknamed Big Ethel, in Archie Comics

Ethel Rogers, in Agatha Christie's novel And Then There Were None

Ethel Skinner, in the British soap opera EastEnders

Ethel Sprocket, in the Canadian animated sitcom Ricky Sprocket: Showbiz Boy

Ethel Thayer, in the play On Golden Pond

Silvercoat Ethel, in Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Auntie Ethel, in Baldur's Gate 3

Ethel, in the animated film The Garfield Movie