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Ernest

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

Popularity over time

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.

Across the states

See where Ernest is more common.

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

Around the world

See how Ernest ranks in other countries and regions.

#127 in Poland (2025) · #252 in England & Wales (2025) · #266 in Belgium (2025) · #275 in France (2025) · #462 in Scotland (2025) · #828 in Switzerland (2025) · #1,447 in Sweden (2025) · #991 in Canada (2024).

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 (film series)
• Ernest P. Worrell — Ernest Goes to Camp (film)
• Ernest Leclerc — 'Allo 'Allo! (TV series)

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: Alfred · Herman · Harry · West · Elmer · Emery

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

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