Eber
Masculine · “the one from beyond”
Eber is a name from the genealogies at the front of Genesis, and it may be the word the Hebrews are named after. It stood inside the American top six hundred and sixty in 1882, which places it exactly in the era when American Protestant families were reading names out of the Old Testament wholesale — the same decades that produced Amos, Hiram, Ezra and Obadiah on American birth certificates.
How old is the name Eber?
Eber was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Eber alive today was born around 1997, making them about 28 years old. About 900 people named Eber are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Eber most popular?
Eber peaked in 1882, reaching #652 nationally. Today it ranks #5861, 5,209 places below that high. See the whole 1882 chart.
Where it comes from
From '-b-r to Eber
The story of Eber
Eber appears in the tenth and eleventh chapters of Genesis as a great-grandson of Shem and an ancestor of Abraham, and the genealogy makes him the eponymous forefather of the Hebrews. He is not otherwise a character; he has no story, only a place in a list. That did not prevent English-speaking Protestants from using the name, because the practice of the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries was to take names from anywhere in scripture, story or no story. American usage was strongest in New England and the upper South and faded quickly after 1900, along with the whole cohort of minor Old Testament names.
Meaningscholars disagree
the one from beyond; one who crosses over
Hebrew Ever is built on the root '-b-r, 'to pass over, to cross', which gives eber, the region across or beyond — the far side of a river. The traditional connection to the word ivri, Hebrew, is old and widely repeated: one who came from beyond the river. Modern scholars are divided on whether ivri actually derives from this name or from the same root independently, and some connect it instead to the Habiru of the Bronze Age texts. The root is certain; the connection to the people's name is not.
How the name formed
- '-b-r
- Ever
- Heber
- Eber
Related forms: Ever · Heber · Heber · Eber
Pronouncing Eber
EE-ber
Two syllables, stress on the first, with a long e. The Hebrew original begins with an ayin, a consonant English does not have, and is closer to EH-ver; the English form has been EE-ber since the King James Bible.
Nicknames for Eber
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 200635 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #652reached in 1882
- Change vs 2023
- −31.8%15 in 2025, from 22
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Eber in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ever in Hebrew — same name
- Heber in English — spelling variant
- Heber in Spanish — spelling variant
- Eber in Greek — transliteration
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California.
Ebers among us
people named Eber are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 113,872 born in 2025 was named Eber
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Eber sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Eber beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Eber in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is short, easy to spell and unmistakably its own.
- It has a genuinely ancient scriptural history rather than a modern one.
- Eb works as a plain, sexless short form.
- Heber is the more common spelling in Spanish-speaking countries and will be assumed.
- The connection to the word Hebrew is traditional but not settled.
- It is rare enough in modern America that it will always be spelled out.
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Eber
Masculine · #5861 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Ebers are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Eber are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Eber in 2025?
- Eber ranks #5861 among US boy names in 2025, with 15 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Eber?
- About 1 in every 113,872 US boys born in 2025 was named Eber — 15 in all.
- Will my child share the name Eber with classmates?
- Eber will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Eber
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Wilton#5861 · Ruby#5861 · Stacy#5861 · Garner#5861 · Caldwell#5861 · Severin#5861 · Sebastiano#5861 · Newton#5861
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Eber? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Eber and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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