Given name · also Greek
Ebony
“a dark beauty”
Ebony is used as a given name. One Egyptian interpretation is “a dark beauty.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Egyptian interpretation is “a dark beauty.”
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with Greek and Egyptian naming traditions.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1950. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Ebony through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 39,453
- 455 boys · 38,998 girls
- Most popular year
- 1982
- 2,315 babies
- 2025
- 23
- #5,452 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −45%
- Cooling
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 23 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 5,452 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 44.7% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 2,279 in 1982. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 30,670 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Ebony’s family of names
Ebony has a related form in Eboni. Ebony has a related form in Ebonie. Ebony has a related form in Ebonee.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 12
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Ebonyelikely variant
- Ebonnielikely variant
- Ebbonylikely variant
- Eboneyvariant
- Eboniquevariant
- Ebonievariant
- Eboneevariant
- Ebonivariant
Show 4 moreShow fewer
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Ebony
- Ebony ReignsGhanaian dancehall artist (1997-2018)
- Ebony BonesBritish singerborn 1982
- Ebony MorrisonLiberian athlete (born 1994)
- Ebony HoffmanAmerican basketball player (born 1982)
- Ebony ObsidianAmerican actressborn 1994
- Ebony SalmonEnglish association football playerborn 2001
- Ebony PattersonJamaican artist (born 1981)
- Ebony FlowersAmerican cartoonist and ethnographer
- WondaGurlCanadian record producer, songwriter and record executive (born 1996)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Ebony, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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