Ernest has been given to about 304,354 people in the United States since 1880. It was most common in 1921, which makes it a interwar name.
Its best year was 1921, when 5,723 babies were given the name, ranking 38th. The typical living American called Ernest is about 70 years old today. It is relatively most common in Nebraska, where it accounts for 0.03% of births.
Source: US Social Security Administration, national and state name files, 2025 release, and the Office for National Statistics for England and Wales. Etymology researched and written by our editors. Living-population and median-age figures are our own estimates, described in the methodology.