Earnest is a boy name with a classic feel, drawn from real birth records. Below you'll find what Earnest means and where it comes from, plus how many babies have been named Earnest across the United States, UK, Ireland and New Zealand, how popular Earnest has been over the decades, and the year it peaked.
Earnest is a boy name of Germanic origin meaning “serious, resolute”. A variant spelling of Ernest.
| Country | Births on record |
|---|---|
| United States since 1880 | 59,115 births |
| England & Wales since 1996 | 6 births |
Counts come from official national birth-registration statistics: U.S. Social Security Administration, England & Wales (Office for National Statistics), Scotland (National Records of Scotland), Northern Ireland (NISRA), Ireland (Central Statistics Office) and New Zealand (Dept. of Internal Affairs). Coverage spans differ, so totals aren't directly comparable across countries.
Babies named Earnest per year, United States (1880 to 2025). United States peaked in 1926 (1,159/yr) · England & Wales peaked in 2009 (3/yr).
Earnest has been a fairly common baby name in the United States. It was most common in 1926, when it ranked #327 nationally (given to 1,159 babies that year).
Ernest · Ernesto · Ernst · Ernesta · Earnst · Ernist · Erenest · Erniest
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