Holding steady.
Popularity of Ettamae since 1916
Babies named Ettamae per year in U.S. Social Security records.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1910s | 35 |
| 1920s | 50 |
| 1930s | 10 |
| 1940s | 0 |
| 1950s | 0 |
| 1960s | 0 |
| 1970s | 0 |
| 1980s | 0 |
| 1990s | 0 |
| 2000s | 0 |
| 2010s | 0 |
| 2020s | 6 |
Meaning & origin
Ettamae is a distinctly American double name that saw its peak usage in 1916, the year it was first recorded. Despite never ranking in the top 1000 nationally, it has a strong regional flavor associated with the Southern United States. The name's trajectory has been stable, with very few births in recent decades. As a compound of Etta and Mae, it fits a pattern that produced similar names like Lillie Mae and Annie Pearl. With no top states recorded and a one-in-N ratio that is not meaningful due to low frequency, Ettamae remains a rare and nostalgic choice, evoking early 20th-century naming traditions.
Ettamae is a compound given name formed from Etta (a short form of names like Henrietta, meaning 'home ruler', or from the Italian etta, 'little one') and Mae (a variant of May, derived from the month or from the name Mary, meaning 'beloved' or 'bitter'). It emerged in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly in the South, as part of the fashion for combining two popular feminine names into a double-barreled first name.
Nicknames & variants
Nicknames: Etta, Mae, Etty
Variants: Etta Mae, Etta-Mae, Etty Mae
Sibling names for Ettamae
Names that share Ettamae's style, for a brother or sister.
