Baby Names:

Ethan

Meaning: Stable, long-lived

Origin: Hebrew

Alternate spellings: Ethen, Athan, Aitan, Eitan

Ethan is a Hebrew name from the Bible that means “stable, long-lived.” Despite that positive-sounding definition, Ethan didn’t regularly make the top 1,000 names in the U.S. until the 1950s. (Ethan did appear a handful of times in the 1880s, likely due to patriot Ethan Allen.) It made a huge leap in popularity in 1989, going from #263 in 1988 to #87 the next year, perhaps due to actor Ethan Hawke, who started making movies around that time. The name has continued to gain popularity in recent years. This is a great pick if you don’t like nicknames.