Recorded 1880–2021 Girls' name Peak 1916 9,060 births

Erna — girls' name

9,060 babies named Erna in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1916. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s2011890s8791900s10451910s24651920s20351930s10471940s5901950s3791960s1811970s701980s191990s152000s952010s332020s6
1910s
Peak decade

27% of everyone ever named Erna was born in this single decade.

1916
Single peak year

358 babies were named Erna in 1916 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Erna

The Social Security Administration has registered 9,060 babies named Erna between 1880 and 2021, spanning 142 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a girl's name, Erna currently falls outside the top 1,000 girls' names for 2021. The name reached its historical peak in 1916, when 358 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Erna performed strongest in the 1910s, accumulating 2,465 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Erna shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in Texas, which accounts for 568 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Wisconsin and Illinois. In total, SSA state-level files list Erna in 28 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Erna in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 9,060 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Erna at a glance

Last recorded 2021

Total births

9,060

Since 1880

142 years of records

Peak year

1916

358 births that year

Strongest decade: 1910s

Current rank

Unranked

Outside the modern top-1,000

As of 2021

Active since

1880

Recorded for 142 years

Last year on file: 2021

Erna popularity over time — girls

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2021–1880

Last recorded 2021
Peak year (1916)
358
Annual births at peak — across 142 years of records
-1000100200300400 202120001969195419391924190918941880 10

Erna popularity over time — boys

11 total births recorded since 1909 (Erna as boys' name)

Unisex variant — 11 births
4.555.566.5 19211909 5

Erna by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1910s
Peak decade
1910s
2,465 births that decade — 27% of Erna's all-time total
1880s2011890s8791900s10451910s24651920s20351930s10471940s5901950s3791960s1811970s701980s191990s152000s952010s332020s6

Erna by state

Where Erna concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Erna
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 Texas
568 6.3%
#2 Wisconsin
567 6.3%
#3 Illinois
525 5.8%
#4 New York
489 5.4%
#5 Minnesota
295 3.3%
#6 North Dakota
264 2.9%
#7 Missouri
262 2.9%
#8 Pennsylvania
227 2.5%
Texas share of Erna's total US births 6.3%
Even split

568 of 9,060 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 28 reporting states.

Erna appears in 28 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Erna?
9,060 babies have been named Erna since 1880. It was last recorded in 2021. The peak year was 1916 with 358 births.
When was Erna most popular?
Erna was most popular in the 1910s decade with 2,465 total births. The single peak year was 1916.
Where is Erna most popular?
The top states for the name Erna are Texas (568 births), Wisconsin (567 births), Illinois (525 births).
How long has the name Erna been used?
Erna has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 142 years of data through 2021.
What names are similar to Erna?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Ernestine, Ernestina, Ernest, Ernie, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

Keep exploring Erna

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Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2021 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.