COMPILED FROM THE FEDERAL REGISTERS, 1880 TO THE PRESENT
THE ENDANGERED NAMES LIST
American first names, tracked to the federal reporting line.

FROM THE REGISTER — THE VANISHED

Ethyl
A female given name · United States

BELOW THE FEDERAL REPORTING LINE SINCE 1972 — 54 YEARS

Ethyl (F): reported births per year020406080100188019001920194019601980200020202025FEDERAL REPORTING LINE (5)PEAK 92 — 1915
Reported births per year, 1880–2025. The y-axis starts at zero. Years below the reporting line appear as gaps, not zeros.

Ethel, spelled like the compound. Ethyl was reported above the federal line from 1880 to 1971, peaking at 92 births in 1915 — 2,395 recorded in all. It has not appeared in the register since: 54 years below the line, and counting.

REGISTER EXTRACT
First reported1880
Last reported1971
Peak1915 — 92 births
Total recorded, 1880–20252,395
Years above the line82 of a possible 146
Longest absence54 years (1972–2025, ongoing)

Nearby in the register

Hildegarde

The Vanished · 1885–1961 · peak 1915

Myrle

The Vanished · 1884–1962 · peak 1915

Sudie

The Vanished · 1880–1984 · peak 1916

Ludie

The Vanished · 1880–1964 · peak 1916

Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national names file (1880–2025). Names below 5 occurrences in a year are not reported.

Somewhere, a grandmother is unsurprised.

A collection of THE MUSEUM OF HOPEFUL MACHINES