Meaning: Its source is an Ancient Germanic expression meaning "Noble."

Popularity: The name Ethelene ranked 2832nd in popularity for females of all ages in a sample of the 1990 US Census.

Though this name appears on the 1990 U.S. Census lists, it is used by only a small percentage of the general population.

Narrative: This is an element in a number of Ancient Germanic names, such as Ethelinda, Etheldreda and Ethelberta.

It was a practice of the Anglo-Saxons (who ruled Britain before the Norman Conquest and spoke an Ancient Germanic tongue) to name several offspring using common name elements. Three daughters in the same family named Ethelinda, Etheldreda and Ethelberta would not have been unusual.