Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Ernest?
Births per year, rank history and how many Ernests are alive today.
Ernest (male), once a common boys' name, is now an uncommon choice for new babies in England and Wales, ranked 252nd in 2025 with 185 given the name. The name peaked in 1904, when around 13,300 babies were given the name, the 10th most popular that year. It has declined since 1904; the 2025 figure is roughly 1% of its peak. Numbers have been stable in recent years. At least 240,000 babies have been named Ernest in England and Wales since 1904. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
The Ernest you are most likely to meet is around 75 years old - or else around 2: the name has two living generations. Half of all Ernests born in England and Wales are between 53 and 84, and there are at least 22,000 of them alive today. If you walk into a room of 100 males, there's roughly a 7% chance that at least one of them will be called Ernest.
How many babies are named Ernest each year?
Where does Ernest rank among boys' names?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
When was the name Ernest most popular?
Ernest peaked in 1904, when around 13,300 babies in England and Wales were given the name.
How many people are called Ernest?
At least 22,000 people named Ernest born in England and Wales are alive today.
How old is the typical Ernest?
Most living Ernests are between 53 and 84; the most common age is about 75. There is a second cluster around 2.
Is Ernest becoming more or less popular?
Well past its peak: today's figures are a fraction of the 1904 peak, though numbers have levelled off in recent years.