Given name & surname
Efrem
“fruitful”·“one who is fertile; productive”
Efrem is a variant of Ephraim. Interpretations include “fruitful” and “one who is fertile; productive” (Hebrew). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Efrem is a variant of Ephraim. Interpretations include “fruitful” and “one who is fertile; productive” (Hebrew). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Efrem is a variant of Ephraim. An origin associated with Ephraim is Hebrew.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
From Biblical Hebrew אֶפְרַיִם (Efráyim, “fruitful”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1926. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Efrem is a variant of Ephraim. The history of Ephraim gives this family its wider story. Ephraim appears in biblical tradition, giving it a longstanding religious and cultural context.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Efrem through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,584
- 1,584 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1959
- 85 babies
- 2025
- 6
- #11,037 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +100%
- Rising fast
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 6 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 11,037 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 85 in 1959. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,468 as a first name in 2020; 161 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Efrem’s family of names
Efrem has a related form in Ephraim. In Polish usage, Efrem has a conventional equivalent in the English form Ephrem. In Catalan usage, Efrem has a related form in Efraïm.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Efrem has relatives in 11 languages.
12 related names in 11 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 13
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Efraimequivalent
- EphremEnglish
- ЕфремRussian
- Yefremequivalent
- Охрімequivalent
- Єфремequivalent
- Ἐφραίμgr
- EfrémPortuguese, Czech
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People named Efrem
- Ephrem the SyrianSyriac saint, theologian and writer (c. 306 – 373)
- Efrem Zimbalist Jr.American actor (1918–2014)
- Efrem ZimbalistRussian-American violinist, composer, teacher, conductor (1889–1985)
- Efrem ForniItalian cardinal (1889–1976)
- Efrem KurtzRussian conductor (1900–1995)
- Efrem EshbaAbkhaz and Soviet Statesman (1893–1939)
- Efrem of Nowy Targ
- Ephremborn 1941
- Efrem FlaksSoviet singer (1909–1982)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
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