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 [ 2 syll. et-hel, eth-el ] The girl name Ethel is pronounced as EHTHahL KEY. Ethel is used predominantly in the English language and it is derived from Old English origins. Aethel (Old English) and Athala (Germanic) are old forms of Ethel. The name is from the Old English 'aethel' (noble, honorable); it evolved as a short form of various rare Anglo-Saxon names beginning with 'Ethel-', such as Etheldreda, Ethelburga ('noble fortress'), Ethelgiva ('noble gift'), and Ethelinda ('noble snake'). The name was invented by English speakers during the vogue for Old English names in the 19th century, and it was popularized as the name of main characters in the William Makepeace Thackeray novel The Newcomes (1855) and the Charlotte Mary Yonge story The Daisy Chain (1856). Atal (Yiddish), Ehtel (English), Etel (Hungarian), Etha (Irish and English), Ethelda (English), Etheleen (English), Ethelene (English), and Ethlyn (English) are variant forms of Ethel. Ethel is a short form of the name Etheldreda (English). Ethel is also a short form of the name Ethelinda (English). Other forms of Ethel include the short forms Eth (English) and Thel (English), the pet form Ethelyn (English), and the variant spelling Ethyl (English). Ethel is a rare baby girl name. In 1900, 1.225% of baby girls were given the name Ethel. It was #8 in rank then. The baby name has suffered a steep loss in popularity since then, and is currently of very modest use. Out of all girl names in its family, Ethel was nonetheless the most frequently used in 2008. The name Ethel has been primarily given to girls, though it has also been used as a boy name in the last century. In 1928, 98 times as many girls than boys were given the name Ethel. Baby names that sound like Ethel include Ethyl (English), Ehtel (English), Etel (Hungarian), and Edilia (Spanish). Details of famous persons named Ethel: KEY: Pronunciation for Ethel: EH as in "Ed (EH.D)" ; TH as in "theta (TH.EY.T.AH)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; L as in "lee (L.IY)"   |
