Ezekiel
Ezekiel was the 61st most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 5,091 babies. Its best year was 2022, when it ranked 48th with 6,053 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 85 places. More babies were named Ezekiel in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning God strengthens · Hebrew
Say it ih-ZEE-kee-uhl /ɪˈziːkiəl/
- Rank in 2025
- #61 boys, up 3 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 5,091boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20226,053 babies
- Total since 1880
- 83,657babies recorded
What does the name Ezekiel mean?
Ezekiel is the English form of Hebrew Yechezqel, the name of the prophet whose book is part of the Hebrew Bible. It joins a verb meaning 'to be strong, to strengthen' with El, 'God'; DMNES reads it as a wish, 'may God strengthen', and Wiktionary as 'God strengthens'. The Greek and Latin Bibles passed the name to European languages, and DMNES records Ezechiel in England from the 1580s, when Protestant families began using Old Testament names. Zeke is the usual short form.
יְחֶזְקֵאל (Biblical Hebrew, “Yechezqel”)חזק (Hebrew, “be strong, strengthen”)אֵל (Hebrew, “God”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Zeke, Ezequiel, Ezechiel.
See also: Hebrew names, names that mean God, names that mean strength.
Sources for this meaning
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Ezekiel', Durham University / The DMNES Editors
- Hebrew Bible, Ezekiel 1:3, JPS translation with notes (via Sefaria), Sefaria; verse reference and facts only, not quoted
- Wiktionary, entry 'Ezekiel', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
Nicknames for Ezekiel
The usual nicknames for Ezekiel are Zeke. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Ezekiel in the last five years, 7 were named Zeke, against 12 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zeke · also for Zechariah, Ezequiel, Zachariah | Traditional | #803 | 2,012 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Ezekiels go by each one.
Ezekiel popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 52 since 2013, 7 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #61 | 5,091 |
| 2020 | #64 | 5,091 |
| 2010 | #212 | 1,691 |
| 2000 | #357 | 741 |
| 1990 | #626 | 263 |
| 1980 | #810 | 118 |
| 1970 | #1,283 | 42 |
| 1960 | #1,077 | 52 |
| 1950 | #1,042 | 46 |
| 1940 | #912 | 49 |
| 1930 | #898 | 55 |
| 1920 | #951 | 53 |
| 1910 | #661 | 20 |
| 1900 | #562 | 19 |
| 1890 | #689 | 9 |
| 1880 | #447 | 16 |
How popular is Ezekiel, counting every spelling?
Ezekiel has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #66 for boys in 2025, against #61 on the official list, because Kayden/Kaiden/Caden and Aiden/Ayden/Aidan and Silas/Sylas/Cylas move ahead once their spellings are combined.
How many kids will share the name Ezekiel?
5,091 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Ezekiel (1.41 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Ezekiel born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is about 1 in 38. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 2 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Ezekiel.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Ezekiel?
About 80,600 people born in the US named Ezekiel are alive today, with a median age of 8; half are between 4 and 15. That makes Ezekiel a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Ezekiel by state
How common Ezekiel was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in New Mexico (3.9×), Hawaii (3.7×), Nevada (2.4×), Wyoming (2.2×), California (2.1×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Ezekiel: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Ezekiel, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Ezekiel · Sibling names for Ezekiel
Questions about the name Ezekiel
What does Ezekiel mean?
Ezekiel means “God strengthens” (Hebrew origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Ezekiel?
Ezekiel was the 61st most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 5,091 babies. Its best year was 2022, when it ranked 48th with 6,053 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 85 places. More babies were named Ezekiel in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Ezekiel a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Ezekiel in the US.
Where is Ezekiel most popular?
In 2021–2025, Ezekiel was most common in New Mexico (12.60 per 1,000 boys), followed by Hawaii and Nevada.