Ernestina
Ernestina was given to 8 girls in 2025, #11,239 among girls’ names; 5,309 Americans have been recorded with it since 1896 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 3,190 Americans named Ernestina and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (60% of everyone recorded); the median is 59 years old and half are between 44 and 73.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Ernestina by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Ernestina mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Ernestina is “a female given name, variant of Ernestine.”
From Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish Ernestina. By surface analysis, Ernest + -ina. Piecewise doublet of Ernestine.
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Ernestina?
#11,239 among girls’ names, 2025
Ernestina rose from #15,079 in 2015 to #11,239 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 3.4 to 5.0 per million.
106 babies in 1947, the peak
Ernestina peaked in 1947, when 106 girls were given it, #852 among girls’ names. The 8 births of 2025 are 8% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8 | #11,239 | 5.0 |
| 2023 | 6 | #13,959 | 3.7 |
| 2021 | 5 | #15,996 | 3.0 |
| 2020 | 6 | #13,963 | 3.7 |
| 2019 | 6 | #14,327 | 3.6 |
| 2018 | 6 | #14,345 | 3.5 |
| 2017 | 6 | #14,675 | 3.5 |
| 2016 | 10 | #10,323 | 5.6 |
| 2015 | 6 | #15,079 | 3.4 |
| 2014 | 13 | #8,619 | 7.3 |
Every recorded year (121)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 6 | #15,214 | 3.4 |
| 2012 | 8 | #12,583 | 4.5 |
| 2011 | 5 | #17,612 | 2.8 |
| 2010 | 7 | #13,921 | 3.9 |
| 2009 | 7 | #14,149 | 3.8 |
| 2008 | 18 | #7,170 | 9.5 |
| 2007 | 15 | #8,218 | 7.8 |
| 2006 | 14 | #8,389 | 7.4 |
| 2005 | 15 | #7,625 | 8.1 |
| 2004 | 8 | #11,961 | 4.4 |
| 2003 | 20 | #5,880 | 10.9 |
| 2002 | 15 | #7,168 | 8.3 |
| 2001 | 15 | #7,074 | 8.3 |
| 2000 | 20 | #5,542 | 11.0 |
| 1999 | 14 | #6,936 | 7.9 |
| 1998 | 18 | #5,643 | 10.2 |
| 1997 | 27 | #4,044 | 15.5 |
| 1996 | 22 | #4,641 | 12.5 |
| 1995 | 29 | #3,691 | 16.5 |
| 1994 | 22 | #4,571 | 12.3 |
| 1993 | 36 | #3,169 | 19.9 |
| 1992 | 30 | #3,601 | 16.3 |
| 1991 | 41 | #2,849 | 21.9 |
| 1990 | 29 | #3,644 | 15.3 |
| 1989 | 40 | #2,773 | 21.7 |
| 1988 | 39 | #2,708 | 21.9 |
| 1987 | 35 | #2,797 | 20.1 |
| 1986 | 31 | #2,994 | 18.1 |
| 1985 | 38 | #2,558 | 22.1 |
| 1984 | 42 | #2,315 | 24.9 |
| 1983 | 39 | #2,403 | 23.3 |
| 1982 | 58 | #1,859 | 34.3 |
| 1981 | 46 | #2,209 | 27.6 |
| 1980 | 58 | #1,868 | 34.9 |
| 1979 | 50 | #2,029 | 31.1 |
| 1978 | 44 | #2,132 | 28.7 |
| 1977 | 57 | #1,782 | 37.2 |
| 1976 | 46 | #1,941 | 31.4 |
| 1975 | 63 | #1,577 | 43.2 |
| 1974 | 60 | #1,587 | 40.9 |
| 1973 | 60 | #1,550 | 41.1 |
| 1972 | 72 | #1,387 | 47.3 |
| 1971 | 62 | #1,565 | 37.3 |
| 1970 | 48 | #1,837 | 27.5 |
| 1969 | 65 | #1,456 | 38.5 |
| 1968 | 46 | #1,733 | 28.0 |
| 1967 | 59 | #1,446 | 35.7 |
| 1966 | 53 | #1,535 | 31.3 |
| 1965 | 65 | #1,373 | 36.8 |
| 1964 | 53 | #1,563 | 28.0 |
| 1963 | 73 | #1,293 | 37.9 |
| 1962 | 58 | #1,463 | 29.5 |
| 1961 | 66 | #1,379 | 32.7 |
| 1960 | 75 | #1,269 | 37.1 |
| 1959 | 72 | #1,263 | 35.6 |
| 1958 | 72 | #1,253 | 35.8 |
| 1957 | 75 | #1,220 | 36.7 |
| 1956 | 71 | #1,236 | 35.4 |
| 1955 | 76 | #1,144 | 38.9 |
| 1954 | 86 | #1,057 | 44.3 |
| 1953 | 84 | #1,054 | 44.6 |
| 1952 | 71 | #1,119 | 38.3 |
| 1951 | 75 | #1,070 | 41.6 |
| 1950 | 88 | #959 | 51.4 |
| 1949 | 82 | #993 | 47.9 |
| 1948 | 71 | #1,050 | 41.8 |
| 1947 | 106 | #852 | 59.8 |
| 1946 | 76 | #954 | 48.4 |
| 1945 | 73 | #882 | 55.8 |
| 1944 | 71 | #911 | 53.5 |
| 1943 | 66 | #979 | 47.3 |
| 1942 | 60 | #1,009 | 44.4 |
| 1941 | 64 | #920 | 53.0 |
| 1940 | 75 | #822 | 65.6 |
| 1939 | 82 | #762 | 74.8 |
| 1938 | 81 | #777 | 73.4 |
| 1937 | 77 | #781 | 72.4 |
| 1936 | 63 | #858 | 60.6 |
| 1935 | 71 | #807 | 67.7 |
| 1934 | 60 | #880 | 57.5 |
| 1933 | 92 | #679 | 91.3 |
| 1932 | 71 | #809 | 66.5 |
| 1931 | 76 | #771 | 71.4 |
| 1930 | 97 | #703 | 86.2 |
| 1929 | 95 | #724 | 85.1 |
| 1928 | 75 | #832 | 65.0 |
| 1927 | 88 | #773 | 73.8 |
| 1926 | 92 | #750 | 77.6 |
| 1925 | 84 | #808 | 69.0 |
| 1924 | 64 | #952 | 51.2 |
| 1923 | 49 | #1,093 | 40.6 |
| 1922 | 47 | #1,118 | 39.1 |
| 1921 | 53 | #1,038 | 43.0 |
| 1920 | 24 | #1,719 | 20.0 |
| 1919 | 33 | #1,355 | 29.2 |
| 1918 | 41 | #1,168 | 35.4 |
| 1917 | 28 | #1,412 | 25.9 |
| 1916 | 26 | #1,458 | 24.9 |
| 1915 | 19 | #1,750 | 19.3 |
| 1914 | 20 | #1,455 | 26.3 |
| 1913 | 9 | #2,210 | 14.4 |
| 1912 | 5 | #3,120 | 9.0 |
| 1911 | 12 | #1,396 | 28.7 |
| 1910 | 5 | #2,529 | 12.6 |
| 1909 | 7 | #1,829 | 20.2 |
| 1906 | 8 | #1,462 | 27.1 |
| 1904 | 5 | #1,976 | 18.2 |
| 1903 | 5 | #1,880 | 19.1 |
| 1899 | 5 | #1,681 | 21.5 |
| 1897 | 6 | #1,426 | 25.6 |
| 1896 | 6 | #1,471 | 25.2 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Ernestina a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Ernestina has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 121 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Ernestina: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Ernestina, and how old are they?
3,190 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 60% of the 5,309 Americans ever recorded as Ernestina. The median Ernestina alive today is 59 years old; half are between 44 and 73.
The 2020 Census counted 9,458 people named Ernestina (9,442 women and girls, 16 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 3,579 born in the U.S. The Census count is 2.6 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 383 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,100 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 842 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 560 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 223 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 78 |
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 Ernestina born?
The states with the most babies named Ernestina are Texas, California and New Mexico, with 93% of its births recorded by state since 1910; New Mexico is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 2,570 | not ranked | 7.6× |
| California | 924 | not ranked | 2.3× |
| New Mexico | 254 | not ranked | 7.8× |
| Arizona | 249 | not ranked | 5.3× |
| New York | 21 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Colorado | 11 | not ranked | 0.2× |
| Michigan | 6 | not ranked | 0.0× |
| Florida | 5 | not ranked | 0.0× |
| Illinois | 5 | not ranked | 0.0× |
Where Ernestina is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Ernestina is most over-represented in New Mexico: since 1910 it was given 7.8 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 girls’ 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 Ernestina 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 5 names spelled alike, given to 65,909 babies since 1880, Ernestina is the third most given (8.1% of them).
| Name | Since 1880 | Births 2025 | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ernestine | 44,191 | under 5 | 1928 |
| Earnestine | 16,134 | under 5 | 1944 |
| Ernestina | 5,309 | 8 | 1947 |
| Ernestene | 197 | under 5 | 1927 |
| Ernestyne | 78 | under 5 | 1918 |
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 Ernestina
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 Ernestina and names like it
- Compare Ernestina and ErnestineBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1940sErnestina peaked in 1947.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Ernestina since 1910.
- The top names of 1947The year the most babies were named Ernestina.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Ernestina alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with EMost given first.