Earnest
Earnest was given to 25 boys in 2025, #4,163 among boys’ names; 59,115 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 20,200 Americans named Earnest and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (34% of everyone recorded); the median is 66 years old and half are between 51 and 76.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Earnest by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Earnest mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Earnest is “a male given name from the Germanic languages, of occasional usage, variant of Ernest.”
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Earnest?
#4,163 among boys’ names, 2025
Earnest fell from #3,385 in 2015 to #4,163 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 17.2 to 14.6 per million.
1,159 babies in 1926, the peak
Earnest peaked in 1926, when 1,159 babies were given it (1,149 boys, #147 among boys’ names). The 25 births of 2025 are 2% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 25 | #4,163 | 0.01 |
| 2024 | 17 | #5,496 | 0.01 |
| 2023 | 24 | #4,373 | 0.01 |
| 2022 | 24 | #4,336 | 0.01 |
| 2021 | 21 | #4,671 | 0.01 |
| 2020 | 28 | #3,745 | 0.02 |
| 2019 | 27 | #3,918 | 0.02 |
| 2018 | 40 | #2,961 | 0.02 |
| 2017 | 32 | #3,462 | 0.02 |
| 2016 | 24 | #4,229 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 33 | #3,385 | 0.02 |
| 2014 | 37 | #3,050 | 0.02 |
| 2013 | 31 | #3,434 | 0.02 |
| 2012 | 50 | #2,502 | 0.03 |
| 2011 | 53 | #2,386 | 0.03 |
| 2010 | 37 | #3,090 | 0.02 |
| 2009 | 44 | #2,768 | 0.02 |
| 2008 | 51 | #2,480 | 0.02 |
| 2007 | 50 | #2,512 | 0.02 |
| 2006 | 59 | #2,190 | 0.03 |
| 2005 | 49 | #2,376 | 0.02 |
| 2004 | 56 | #2,104 | 0.03 |
| 2003 | 50 | #2,183 | 0.03 |
| 2002 | 63 | #1,820 | 0.03 |
| 2001 | 69 | #1,680 | 0.04 |
| 2000 | 68 | #1,683 | 0.03 |
| 1999 | 77 | #1,477 | 0.04 |
| 1998 | 98 | #1,236 | 0.05 |
| 1997 | 88 | #1,296 | 0.05 |
| 1996 | 84 | #1,304 | 0.04 |
| 1995 | 92 | #1,204 | 0.05 |
| 1994 | 116 | #1,029 | 0.06 |
| 1993 | 92 | #1,159 | 0.05 |
| 1992 | 135 | #909 | 0.07 |
| 1991 | 126 | #942 | 0.06 |
| 1990 | 145 | #845 | 0.07 |
| 1989 | 169 | #757 | 0.08 |
| 1988 | 157 | #755 | 0.08 |
| 1987 | 170 | #699 | 0.09 |
| 1986 | 195 | #642 | 0.11 |
| 1985 | 178 | #659 | 0.10 |
| 1984 | 174 | #655 | 0.10 |
| 1983 | 210 | #582 | 0.12 |
| 1982 | 255 | #535 | 0.14 |
| 1981 | 236 | #554 | 0.13 |
| 1980 | 251 | #541 | 0.14 |
| 1979 | 245 | #545 | 0.14 |
| 1978 | 218 | #568 | 0.13 |
| 1977 | 266 | #501 | 0.16 |
| 1976 | 281 | #469 | 0.18 |
| 1975 | 285 | #473 | 0.18 |
| 1974 | 281 | #474 | 0.18 |
| 1973 | 306 | #446 | 0.20 |
| 1972 | 334 | #434 | 0.21 |
| 1971 | 362 | #426 | 0.20 |
| 1970 | 383 | #417 | 0.21 |
| 1969 | 380 | #409 | 0.21 |
| 1968 | 390 | #393 | 0.22 |
| 1967 | 379 | #386 | 0.22 |
| 1966 | 423 | #368 | 0.24 |
| 1965 | 443 | #366 | 0.24 |
| 1964 | 417 | #391 | 0.21 |
| 1963 | 468 | #364 | 0.23 |
| 1962 | 499 | #353 | 0.24 |
| 1961 | 524 | #345 | 0.25 |
| 1960 | 592 | #320 | 0.28 |
| 1959 | 559 | #326 | 0.26 |
| 1958 | 634 | #298 | 0.30 |
| 1957 | 631 | #303 | 0.29 |
| 1956 | 727 | #272 | 0.34 |
| 1955 | 696 | #269 | 0.34 |
| 1954 | 771 | #250 | 0.38 |
| 1953 | 787 | #239 | 0.40 |
| 1952 | 814 | #233 | 0.42 |
| 1951 | 803 | #239 | 0.43 |
| 1950 | 888 | #213 | 0.50 |
| 1949 | 888 | #213 | 0.50 |
| 1948 | 899 | #211 | 0.51 |
| 1947 | 982 | #203 | 0.54 |
| 1946 | 850 | #202 | 0.52 |
| 1945 | 807 | #188 | 0.60 |
| 1944 | 896 | #182 | 0.66 |
| 1943 | 940 | #177 | 0.66 |
| 1942 | 835 | #192 | 0.60 |
| 1941 | 812 | #185 | 0.66 |
| 1940 | 797 | #184 | 0.69 |
| 1939 | 808 | #177 | 0.73 |
| 1938 | 827 | #176 | 0.75 |
| 1937 | 833 | #174 | 0.78 |
| 1936 | 815 | #170 | 0.79 |
| 1935 | 881 | #163 | 0.85 |
| 1934 | 921 | #161 | 0.89 |
| 1933 | 858 | #166 | 0.87 |
| 1932 | 872 | #169 | 0.84 |
| 1931 | 916 | #162 | 0.88 |
| 1930 | 991 | #153 | 0.90 |
| 1929 | 996 | #155 | 0.93 |
| 1928 | 1,043 | #153 | 0.94 |
| 1927 | 1,062 | #148 | 0.94 |
| 1926 | 1,149 | #147 | 1.0 |
| 1925 | 1,103 | #148 | 1.0 |
| 1924 | 1,144 | #145 | 1.0 |
| 1923 | 1,063 | #146 | 1.0 |
| 1922 | 1,089 | #143 | 1.0 |
| 1921 | 1,128 | #138 | 1.0 |
| 1920 | 1,092 | #140 | 1.0 |
| 1919 | 1,064 | #139 | 1.1 |
| 1918 | 1,081 | #142 | 1.1 |
| 1917 | 924 | #143 | 1.0 |
| 1916 | 780 | #155 | 0.88 |
| 1915 | 824 | #143 | 1.0 |
| 1914 | 638 | #147 | 1.0 |
| 1913 | 521 | #144 | 1.0 |
| 1912 | 486 | #132 | 1.1 |
| 1911 | 283 | #125 | 1.3 |
| 1910 | 255 | #128 | 1.3 |
| 1909 | 255 | #108 | 1.6 |
| 1908 | 230 | #111 | 1.5 |
| 1907 | 225 | #107 | 1.5 |
| 1906 | 183 | #117 | 1.4 |
| 1905 | 172 | #124 | 1.3 |
| 1904 | 189 | #110 | 1.5 |
| 1903 | 140 | #134 | 1.2 |
| 1902 | 159 | #121 | 1.3 |
| 1901 | 131 | #127 | 1.2 |
| 1900 | 223 | #106 | 1.5 |
| 1899 | 146 | #114 | 1.4 |
| 1898 | 161 | #114 | 1.3 |
| 1897 | 148 | #116 | 1.3 |
| 1896 | 144 | #124 | 1.2 |
| 1895 | 143 | #118 | 1.2 |
| 1894 | 131 | #119 | 1.1 |
| 1893 | 132 | #121 | 1.2 |
| 1892 | 149 | #116 | 1.2 |
| 1891 | 114 | #121 | 1.1 |
| 1890 | 122 | #120 | 1.1 |
| 1889 | 101 | #145 | 0.91 |
| 1888 | 138 | #118 | 1.1 |
| 1887 | 99 | #129 | 1.0 |
| 1886 | 105 | #131 | 0.95 |
| 1885 | 120 | #113 | 1.1 |
| 1884 | 109 | #132 | 1.0 |
| 1883 | 87 | #149 | 0.83 |
| 1882 | 104 | #134 | 0.91 |
| 1881 | 92 | #132 | 0.91 |
| 1880 | 88 | #154 | 0.80 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Earnest a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 59,115 Americans recorded as Earnest, 1% are girls and 99% boys. In 2025 it went to 25 boys; SSA lists no girls with it that year (fewer than 5, or none).
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Earnest: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Earnest, and how old are they?
20,200 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 34% of the 59,115 Americans ever recorded as Earnest. The median Earnest alive today is 66 years old; half are between 51 and 76.
The 2020 Census counted 16,573 people named Earnest (133 women and girls, 16,440 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 24,273 born in the U.S. The Census count is 32% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 3,040 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 8,750 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 4,650 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 2,400 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 945 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 360 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Earnest born?
The states with the most babies named Earnest are Texas, Alabama and Georgia, with 30% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Alabama is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 5,316 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Alabama | 4,829 | not ranked | 3.6× |
| Georgia | 4,827 | not ranked | 3.0× |
| Mississippi | 4,784 | not ranked | 4.8× |
| North Carolina | 2,968 | not ranked | 1.7× |
| Louisiana | 2,861 | not ranked | 2.5× |
| Virginia | 2,759 | not ranked | 2.1× |
| Tennessee | 2,672 | not ranked | 2.0× |
| Arkansas | 2,651 | not ranked | 3.1× |
| South Carolina | 2,409 | not ranked | 2.4× |
Where Earnest is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Earnest is most over-represented in Mississippi: since 1910 it was given 4.8 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Earnest with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 3 names spelled alike, given to 365,852 babies since 1880, Earnest is the second most given (16% of them). In 2025 it was given to 25 of their 238 babies (11%), again the second most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Earnest
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Earnest and names like it
- Compare Earnest and ErnestBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sEarnest peaked in 1926.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Earnest since 1910.
- The top names of 1926The year the most babies were named Earnest.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Earnest alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with EMost given first.