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Earl - Origin and Meaning of the name

Meaning of the name Earl

[ 1 syll. ea-(r)(l), ear-l ] The boy name Earl is pronounced as ERL KEY. Earl is used predominantly in the English language and it is derived from Old English origins. From the elements 'earl' ; 'eorl' meaning nobleman, warrior. The first name is derived from the English word for the aristocratic title and ultimately the Old English 'eorl' (nobleman, warrior). It was originally used as a byname or surname for someone working in the household of an English earl; this practice dated from the 12th century. The first name grew wider in use by the 17th century, and in the 20th century it was common with Afro-Americans. The name Earline (English) is the female version of Earl. The name Erl (English) and the name Jarl (Scandinavian) are variants of Earl. Other forms of Earl include the pet forms Earlie (English) and Early, and the variant spellings Earle (English), Erle (English), and Irl (English).

Earl is an uncommon baby name for boys. At the height of its usage in 1901, 0.708% of baby boys were given the name Earl. It ranked at #23 then. The baby name has since fallen from favor, and is currently of irregular use. Within all boy names in its group, Earl was nonetheless the most popular in 2008. The name Earl has been mostly given to boys, though it has also been used as a girl name in the past century. In 1931, the name Earl was given to 94 times as many boys than girls.

Baby names that sound like Earl include Earle (English), Erl (English), Irl (English), Earlie (English), Early (English), Erol (Turkish), Aeriel (English), Ariel (English, German, and Hebrew), and Ariele (Italian).

Details of famous persons named Earl:
Jurist Earl Warren, born 19 March 1891 - 9 July 1974, Los Angeles, California.
Pianist Earl (Fatha) Hines, born Earl Kenneth Hines, 28 December 1903 - 22 April 1983, Duquesne, Pennsylvania.
Rapper DMX, born Earl Simmons, 18 December 1970, Baltimore, Maryland.

KEY: Pronunciation for Earl: ER as in "hurt (HH.ER.T)" ; L as in "lee (L.IY)"


 
Popularity Trend
for Earl
from 1900 to 2008
Variant Popularity Chart
for Earl
in 2008
 

Meaning of Earl Meaning of Earlie Meaning of Earline Meaning of Early Meaning of Earle Meaning of Erle Meaning of Irl Meaning of Erl Meaning of Jarl Meaning of Earlie