Eugene
Feminine · “well-born”
Eugene is given to boys far more often — 380,708 boys against 2,632 girls since 1880. See Eugene as a boy name
The word eugenics was built from the same Greek root as this name, by a man who wanted a term for improving human stock, and there is no honest way to write about the name without saying so. The name is two thousand years older and belonged to popes and generals long before any of that.
How old is the name Eugene?
Eugene first appears in US birth records in 1881 — 144 years ago. The typical Eugene alive today was born around 1934, making them about 91 years old. About 1,000 people named Eugene are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Eugene most popular?
Eugene peaked in 1930, reaching #761 nationally. See the whole 1930 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Eugenios to Eugene
The story of Eugene
Its most remarkable bearer was rejected by the country he had been born in. Prince Eugene of Savoy was refused a commission by Louis the Fourteenth, went east, took service with the Habsburgs, and spent the next forty years beating French armies and Ottoman ones with roughly equal thoroughness — Blenheim, Turin, Belgrade. He built libraries and palaces with the proceeds and left one of the great book collections of Europe. The name went into wide Catholic use through four popes and a good many saints, reached America in the nineteenth century, and was near the top of the lists within two generations.
Meaning
well-born
The Greek compound joins a word meaning good or well to one about birth or descent. It was an ordinary aristocratic compliment in Greek and carried no more weight than that.
How the name formed
- Eugenios
- Eugenius
- Eugene
Related forms: Eugene · Eugenio · Eugenio · Yevgeny · Eugeniusz
Pronouncing Eugene
you-JEEN
Two syllables with the weight at the back in America. British English front-weights it, YOO-jeen, and French says uh-ZHEN.
Nicknames for Eugene
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
- 1881
- Most girls named
- 192785 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #761reached in 1930
- Change vs 2011
- 0.0%5 in 2019, from 5
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.
Eugene in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Eugene in French — same name
- Eugenio in Italian — same name
- Eugenio in Spanish — same name
- Yevgeny in Russian — transliteration
- Eugeniusz in Polish — same name
Eugenes among us
people named Eugene are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Eugene sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It has a form in every European language, eastern and western alike.
- Gene is a ready short form and a standing name in its own right.
- It has an unbroken run in American records from the first year they were kept.
- The meaning is settled and easy to explain.
- The word eugenics shares its root, and anyone who knows that cannot unknow it.
- It is strongly associated with the first half of the twentieth century in America.
- The stress differs between American and British English.
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What they receive
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Eugene
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Eugenes are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,000 people named Eugene are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Eugene in 2025?
- Eugene is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Eugene with classmates?
- Eugene will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More E names
The most-given names starting with E, all years combined.
Elizabeth#17 · Emily#34 · Emma#3 · Evelyn#8 · Ella#29 · Eleanor#12 · Erin#833 · Edna#2458
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Eugene? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Eugene and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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