Ernestine
Feminine · “seriousness”
Ernestine is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 44,032 girls against 159 boys since 1880.
Ernestine is the French feminine of a German word for seriousness. It is one of the few names in English whose meaning is an attitude rather than an object, a place or a virtue.
How old is the name Ernestine?
Ernestine was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Ernestine alive today was born around 1936, making them about 89 years old. About 17,000 people named Ernestine are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ernestine most popular?
Ernestine peaked in 1926, reaching #193 nationally. See the whole 1926 chart.
Ernestine appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From ernst to Ernestine
The story of Ernestine
Ernst was a name of the German nobility, and the Hanoverian succession carried German names into English use in the eighteenth century. French formed the feminine Ernestine, which English-speaking countries borrowed along with a whole set of -ine feminines: Josephine, Geraldine, Clementine, Ernestine. American use rose through the nineteenth century and peaked around 1918, alongside Ernest itself.
Meaning
seriousness, vigor
Through Ernest, from the Germanic ernst, 'seriousness' or 'earnestness in battle'. The modern German word Ernst still means seriousness, so the name remains transparent to its own speakers. The English adjective 'earnest' is a cousin rather than a descendant.
How the name formed
- ernst
- Ernest
- Ernestine
Related forms: Ernestine · Ernestine · Ernestina · Ernestina
Pronouncing Ernestine
UR-nuh-steen
Three syllables, stress on the first, with a secondary stress on the last. French says it er-nes-TEEN with the stress at the end.
Nicknames for Ernestine
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
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 19271,024 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #193reached in 1926
- Change vs 2018
- +20.0%6 in 2021, from 5
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.
Ernestine in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ernestine in German — same name
- Ernestine in French — same name
- Ernestina in Spanish — related form
- Ernestina in Italian — related form
Ernestines among us
people named Ernestine 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
Ernestine has already lived its whole cycle: it rose, had its era, and has stepped off the charts. The fashion question is behind it — what lies ahead is the waiting room where revivals begin, once a name's first generation has grown distant enough for it to sound fresh again.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- The meaning is transparent and undisputed, and it is unusual among name meanings.
- It is standard in German, French, Spanish and Italian alike.
- Ernie and Tina are both available and could hardly be more different.
- It is a long name in an era of short ones, and firmly period-coded to the early twentieth century.
- The stress falls differently in English and French use.
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Ernestine
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Ernestines are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 17,000 people named Ernestine are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Ernestine in 2025?
- Ernestine is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Ernestine with classmates?
- Ernestine 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 Ernestine? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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