Ernest
Feminine · “seriousness”
Ernest is given to boys far more often — 302,499 boys against 1,855 girls since 1880. See Ernest as a boy name
Ernest and earnest are two different words and only one of them is a name. They share a Germanic root and diverged early: the adjective came into English through its own line and the name came in separately, as a Germanic personal name, and the spellings have stayed apart for as long as both have been written down.
How old is the name Ernest?
Ernest first appears in US birth records in 1886 — 139 years ago. The typical Ernest alive today was born around 1939, making them about 86 years old. About 800 people named Ernest are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ernest most popular?
Ernest peaked in 1892, reaching #796 nationally. See the whole 1892 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Ernust to Ernest
The story of Ernest
The most remarkable man to carry it lost his ship and did not lose a man. His expedition was trapped in the ice of the Weddell Sea, the vessel was slowly crushed and sank, and twenty-eight men spent the better part of two years camped on floes and then on a barren island — from which he took five others eight hundred miles in a converted lifeboat to fetch help, crossed an unmapped mountain range on foot, and came back for the rest. Every one of them survived. It is the only Antarctic expedition of the era that failed completely at its purpose and is remembered as a triumph.
Meaning
seriousness, vigor
A Germanic element carrying a sense of determined seriousness. The related English adjective describes the quality; the name is the noun used as a name, which is a slightly different thing.
How the name formed
- Ernust
- Ernest
Related forms: Ernst · Ernest · Ernesto
Pronouncing Ernest
UR-nist
Two syllables with the stress at the front. It is said identically to the adjective it is not, which is the source of a very famous joke.
Nicknames for Ernest
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1886
- Most girls named
- 192751 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #796reached in 1892
- Change vs 1988
- +11.1%10 in 1991, from 9
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Ernest in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ernst in German — same name
- Ernest in French — same name
- Ernesto in Spanish — same name
Ernests among us
people named Ernest are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Ernest sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It has been in continuous use across Europe for a very long time.
- The meaning is clear and unusually direct.
- Ernie sits inside it as a short form with a completely different warmth.
- Its peak was very early and the name carries that age plainly.
- It is a homophone of an adjective, which one famous play made unavoidable.
- The record holds girls as well, and the girl is much the smaller side.
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What they receive
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Ernest
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Ernests are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Ernest are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Ernest in 2025?
- Ernest is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Ernest with classmates?
- Ernest will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More E names
The most-given names starting with E, all years combined.
Elizabeth#17 · Emily#34 · Emma#3 · Evelyn#8 · Ella#29 · Eleanor#12 · Erin#833 · Edna#2458
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Ernest? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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