Earl

“Nobleman, warrior” — English origin

Boy's name · #2236 in the US (2025) · Heirloom

Earl is an heirloom: its strongest era came around 1894, when it ranked #20. It has thinned since but never left the records — about 289,000 boys since 1880, ranked #2236 today. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records.

Around the world: about 1 in 16,000 boys in Canada (2024).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 4 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Earls

Earl Wilbur Sutherland, Jr. — American pharmacologist (1915–1974)
Earl Warren — Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1953 to 1969 (1891–1974)
Earl Hines — American jazz pianist (1903–1983)
Earl Holliman — American actor (1928–2024)
Earl Boykins — American basketball player

In stories & tradition

Earl McGraw — From Dusk till Dawn: The Series
Earl Bassett — Tremors · Tremors 2: Aftershocks
Earl Camembert — television character

What Earls become

Among 1,160 notable people named Earl:

Sports figures appear 1.68× more often than among typical names — e.g. Earl Boykins, American basketball player.

Similar names: Clarence · Ira · Floyd · Will · Ike · Irving

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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