Ernest

“Vigor, strife; serious” — Germanic origin

Boy's name · #1040 in the US (2025) · Heirloom

Ernest belongs to an older America first — it reached #21 back in 1885 — yet it still appears in today's records at #1040. About 302,000 boys have carried it since 1880. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records.

Around the world: about 1 in 1,100 boys in Belgium (2025) · about 1 in 1,200 boys in Poland (2025) · about 1 in 1,500 boys in England & Wales (2025).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 21 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Ernests

Ernest Hemingway — American author and journalist (1899–1961)
Ernest Rutherford — New Zealand physicist (1871–1937)
Ernest Orlando Lawrence — American nuclear physicist (1901–1958)
Ernest Renan — French philosopher and writer (1823–1892)
Ernest Thomas Sinton Walton — Irish physicist and Nobel laureate (1903-1995)

In stories & tradition

Ernest (Ernie Macmillan) — Harry Potter
Ernest P. Worrell — Ernest Goes to Camp · Hey Vern, It's Ernest!
Ernest Leclerc — 'Allo 'Allo!

What Ernests become

Among 4,215 notable people named Ernest:

Lawyers & judges appear 1.7× more often than among typical names — e.g. Ernest Belfort Bax, British barrister and journalist (1854–1926).

Similar names: Ernesto · Alfred · Herman · Harry · Elmer · West

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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