Ernst
Masculine · “serious”
Ernst has no vowel in its second syllable, because it has no second syllable. German compresses the name to a single beat where English gives it two, and the whole difference between Ernst and Ernest is a vowel that German declined to write.
How old is the name Ernst?
Ernst was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Ernst alive today was born around 1935, making them about 90 years old. About 900 people named Ernst are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ernst most popular?
Ernst peaked in 1885, reaching #411 nationally. See the whole 1885 chart.
Where it comes from
From Ernust to Ernst
The story of Ernst
That last point is unusual and it makes for a good joke, which Oscar Wilde built an entire play on: a name that is also the word for being serious, given to a man who is not. The pun works in German too and rather better, because there the word is undisguised. The name itself is old and was carried by German dukes and margraves for centuries before it reached England in the eighteenth century with the Hanoverians. American records have the German spelling from the first year of the count, arriving with German immigration rather than through English.
Meaning
serious, earnest
The Germanic element means seriousness or resolve, and the modern German word Ernst still means exactly that. It is one of the few names whose meaning is an ordinary living word in its own language.
How the name formed
- Ernust
- Ernst
Related forms: Ernst · Ernest · Ernesto · Ernesto
Pronouncing Ernst
AIRNST
One syllable in German. English speakers frequently give it two, ER-nist, which is really the English name Ernest.
Nicknames for Ernst
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 boys named
- 191759 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #411reached in 1885
- Change vs 2015
- −16.7%5 in 2021, from 6
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.
Ernst in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ernst in German — same name
- Ernest in English — related form
- Ernesto in Spanish — related form
- Ernesto in Italian — related form
Ernsts among us
people named Ernst 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
Ernst 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 is a standing name across Germany, Austria and the Netherlands.
- The meaning is an ordinary living word in its own language, which is rare.
- One syllable and five letters, which sits well in front of any surname.
- English speakers will add a vowel and turn it into Ernest.
- The consonant cluster at the end is harder for English mouths than it looks.
- It reads clearly as a German name in America and will prompt questions.
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Ernst
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Ernsts are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Ernst are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Ernst in 2025?
- Ernst is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Ernst with classmates?
- Ernst will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More E names
The most-given names starting with E, all years combined.
Edward#224 · Eric#273 · Ethan#24 · Eugene#943 · Elijah#7 · Ernest#1038 · Earl#2230 · Evan#153
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Ernst? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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