Ernest
Ernest was given to 213 boys in 2025, #1,040 among boys’ names; 304,354 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 110,000 Americans named Ernest and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (36% of everyone recorded); the median is 64 years old and half are between 50 and 75.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Ernest by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Ernest mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Ernest is “a male given name from the Germanic languages; popular in the 19th century.” Its etymology gives the sense “vigor, strife” (ernust).
Borrowed in the 18th century from Ernst, a medieval royal name in Germany, from Old High German ernust (“vigor, strife”), only remotely related to modern German ernst or English earnest.
/ˈɜː(ɹ)nɪst/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Ernest?
#1,040 among boys’ names, 2025
Ernest fell from #956 in 2015 to #1,040 in 2025 among boys’ names, although its share of boys born rose from 0.11 to 0.12 per 1,000.
5,723 babies in 1921, the peak
Ernest peaked in 1921, when 5,723 babies were given it (5,697 boys, #38 among boys’ names). The 213 births of 2025 are 4% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 213 | #1,040 | 0.12 |
| 2024 | 202 | #1,077 | 0.12 |
| 2023 | 213 | #1,028 | 0.12 |
| 2022 | 186 | #1,131 | 0.11 |
| 2021 | 187 | #1,108 | 0.11 |
| 2020 | 208 | #1,009 | 0.12 |
| 2019 | 193 | #1,057 | 0.11 |
| 2018 | 215 | #965 | 0.12 |
| 2017 | 219 | #951 | 0.12 |
| 2016 | 210 | #977 | 0.11 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 216 | #956 | 0.11 |
| 2014 | 247 | #878 | 0.13 |
| 2013 | 217 | #934 | 0.11 |
| 2012 | 223 | #923 | 0.12 |
| 2011 | 253 | #847 | 0.13 |
| 2010 | 218 | #926 | 0.11 |
| 2009 | 251 | #850 | 0.13 |
| 2008 | 277 | #793 | 0.14 |
| 2007 | 289 | #761 | 0.14 |
| 2006 | 298 | #725 | 0.14 |
| 2005 | 336 | #649 | 0.17 |
| 2004 | 368 | #595 | 0.19 |
| 2003 | 363 | #595 | 0.18 |
| 2002 | 353 | #591 | 0.18 |
| 2001 | 357 | #576 | 0.18 |
| 2000 | 440 | #514 | 0.22 |
| 1999 | 387 | #536 | 0.20 |
| 1998 | 450 | #485 | 0.24 |
| 1997 | 480 | #461 | 0.25 |
| 1996 | 517 | #437 | 0.27 |
| 1995 | 491 | #460 | 0.26 |
| 1994 | 591 | #392 | 0.31 |
| 1993 | 644 | #367 | 0.33 |
| 1992 | 721 | #337 | 0.36 |
| 1991 | 853 | #299 | 0.42 |
| 1990 | 920 | #283 | 0.45 |
| 1989 | 955 | #265 | 0.48 |
| 1988 | 1,002 | #239 | 0.52 |
| 1987 | 947 | #245 | 0.51 |
| 1986 | 1,007 | #233 | 0.55 |
| 1985 | 1,072 | #220 | 0.58 |
| 1984 | 1,148 | #203 | 0.64 |
| 1983 | 1,191 | #199 | 0.66 |
| 1982 | 1,240 | #200 | 0.68 |
| 1981 | 1,304 | #193 | 0.73 |
| 1980 | 1,370 | #180 | 0.77 |
| 1979 | 1,399 | #171 | 0.81 |
| 1978 | 1,381 | #171 | 0.84 |
| 1977 | 1,485 | #161 | 0.90 |
| 1976 | 1,482 | #160 | 0.94 |
| 1975 | 1,515 | #161 | 1.0 |
| 1974 | 1,642 | #150 | 1.0 |
| 1973 | 1,680 | #149 | 1.1 |
| 1972 | 1,767 | #147 | 1.1 |
| 1971 | 2,101 | #143 | 1.2 |
| 1970 | 2,304 | #143 | 1.2 |
| 1969 | 2,357 | #130 | 1.3 |
| 1968 | 2,246 | #130 | 1.3 |
| 1967 | 2,351 | #128 | 1.3 |
| 1966 | 2,505 | #122 | 1.4 |
| 1965 | 2,578 | #124 | 1.4 |
| 1964 | 2,816 | #124 | 1.4 |
| 1963 | 2,904 | #122 | 1.4 |
| 1962 | 2,849 | #127 | 1.4 |
| 1961 | 3,096 | #123 | 1.5 |
| 1960 | 3,190 | #120 | 1.5 |
| 1959 | 3,341 | #118 | 1.6 |
| 1958 | 3,516 | #113 | 1.7 |
| 1957 | 3,786 | #101 | 1.8 |
| 1956 | 3,952 | #94 | 1.9 |
| 1955 | 3,975 | #90 | 1.9 |
| 1954 | 4,202 | #87 | 2.1 |
| 1953 | 4,095 | #87 | 2.1 |
| 1952 | 4,123 | #87 | 2.1 |
| 1951 | 4,382 | #83 | 2.3 |
| 1950 | 4,308 | #81 | 2.4 |
| 1949 | 4,346 | #76 | 2.4 |
| 1948 | 4,512 | #76 | 2.6 |
| 1947 | 4,787 | #75 | 2.6 |
| 1946 | 4,395 | #71 | 2.7 |
| 1945 | 4,005 | #60 | 3.0 |
| 1944 | 4,042 | #59 | 3.0 |
| 1943 | 4,172 | #61 | 2.9 |
| 1942 | 4,079 | #61 | 3.0 |
| 1941 | 3,726 | #61 | 3.0 |
| 1940 | 3,698 | #58 | 3.2 |
| 1939 | 3,688 | #55 | 3.3 |
| 1938 | 3,708 | #55 | 3.3 |
| 1937 | 3,759 | #53 | 3.5 |
| 1936 | 3,715 | #55 | 3.6 |
| 1935 | 3,702 | #55 | 3.6 |
| 1934 | 3,849 | #51 | 3.7 |
| 1933 | 3,674 | #50 | 3.7 |
| 1932 | 4,166 | #47 | 4.0 |
| 1931 | 4,298 | #47 | 4.1 |
| 1930 | 4,787 | #43 | 4.4 |
| 1929 | 4,753 | #43 | 4.4 |
| 1928 | 4,941 | #43 | 4.5 |
| 1927 | 5,208 | #41 | 4.6 |
| 1926 | 5,436 | #37 | 4.9 |
| 1925 | 5,494 | #37 | 4.9 |
| 1924 | 5,683 | #37 | 5.0 |
| 1923 | 5,372 | #38 | 4.9 |
| 1922 | 5,503 | #37 | 5.1 |
| 1921 | 5,697 | #38 | 5.2 |
| 1920 | 5,566 | #37 | 5.2 |
| 1919 | 5,296 | #36 | 5.4 |
| 1918 | 5,527 | #37 | 5.5 |
| 1917 | 5,055 | #37 | 5.5 |
| 1916 | 4,823 | #36 | 5.4 |
| 1915 | 4,787 | #35 | 5.6 |
| 1914 | 3,632 | #38 | 5.5 |
| 1913 | 2,940 | #34 | 5.7 |
| 1912 | 2,569 | #32 | 6.0 |
| 1911 | 1,338 | #32 | 5.9 |
| 1910 | 1,167 | #31 | 6.0 |
| 1909 | 885 | #34 | 5.4 |
| 1908 | 1,000 | #31 | 6.5 |
| 1907 | 978 | #30 | 6.7 |
| 1906 | 943 | #28 | 7.1 |
| 1905 | 845 | #31 | 6.4 |
| 1904 | 749 | #32 | 5.8 |
| 1903 | 764 | #30 | 6.4 |
| 1902 | 790 | #29 | 6.4 |
| 1901 | 691 | #28 | 6.5 |
| 1900 | 1,012 | #30 | 6.7 |
| 1899 | 744 | #27 | 7.0 |
| 1898 | 839 | #28 | 6.8 |
| 1897 | 785 | #27 | 7.0 |
| 1896 | 764 | #29 | 6.4 |
| 1895 | 834 | #24 | 7.1 |
| 1894 | 821 | #24 | 7.1 |
| 1893 | 796 | #23 | 7.1 |
| 1892 | 805 | #26 | 6.6 |
| 1891 | 715 | #22 | 7.1 |
| 1890 | 774 | #22 | 7.0 |
| 1889 | 736 | #23 | 6.7 |
| 1888 | 766 | #27 | 6.3 |
| 1887 | 653 | #23 | 6.4 |
| 1886 | 668 | #25 | 6.0 |
| 1885 | 718 | #21 | 6.7 |
| 1884 | 690 | #25 | 6.0 |
| 1883 | 641 | #23 | 6.1 |
| 1882 | 642 | #27 | 5.6 |
| 1881 | 571 | #25 | 5.7 |
| 1880 | 615 | #26 | 5.6 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Ernest a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Ernest has been given almost only to boys: 1,855 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Ernest: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Ernest, and how old are they?
110,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 36% of the 304,354 Americans ever recorded as Ernest. The median Ernest alive today is 64 years old; half are between 50 and 75.
The 2020 Census counted 114,307 people named Ernest (240 women and girls, 114,067 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 128,897 born in the U.S. The Census count is 11% 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 | 13,800 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 47,100 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 26,600 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 13,900 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 5,250 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 2,710 |
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 Ernest born?
The states with the most babies named Ernest are Texas, California and New York, with 21% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 19,457 | #1,365 | 1.2× |
| California | 19,134 | #816 | 1.1× |
| New York | 18,274 | #1,336 | 0.7× |
| Pennsylvania | 14,832 | #1,034 | 0.7× |
| North Carolina | 11,675 | #1,187 | 1.3× |
| Ohio | 10,766 | #1,151 | 0.7× |
| Illinois | 10,465 | #1,351 | 0.7× |
| Georgia | 9,662 | #1,258 | 1.2× |
| Massachusetts | 9,420 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Michigan | 9,116 | #734 | 0.8× |
Where Ernest is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Ernest is most over-represented in New Mexico: since 1910 it was given 2.1 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 Ernest 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, Ernest is the most given (83% of them). In 2025 it was given to 213 of their 238 babies (89%), again the 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 Ernest
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 Ernest and names like it
- Compare Ernest and EarnestBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sErnest peaked in 1921.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Ernest since 1910.
- Germanic namesWiktionary’s origin for Ernest: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1921The year the most babies were named Ernest.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Ernest alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with EMost given first.