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Ernest

The name Ernest peaked for girls at #807 in 1892. Ernest is occasionally used for boys in 2024.

The name Ernest is a boy's name of English origin meaning "serious, resolute".

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Ernest is one of those sober, so-far-out-they're-beginning-to-be-reconsidered Great Uncle names. Ernest recently received a big style boost when Britain's Princess Eugenie chose it for her second son.
 
Ernest was a Top 40 name from 1880 to 1926, and despite trending downward from there, hung onto the Top 1000 until 2019. But we may see the rise of Ernest again before long.
 Ernest is probably the only name a whole play was based on—Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest—in which one character says, "There is something in that name that seems to inspire absolute confidence. I pity any poor woman whose husband is not called Ernest."
 The most famous bearer of the name is novelist Ernest Hemingway—unless you want to count Bert's friend Ernie.
 Changing the spelling to Earnest makes it a male virtue name.

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The name Ernest is currently ranked #978 in U.S. births. and peaked for boys at #21 in 1885. It is currently rising in popularity. The name is most popular in ERNEST, ERNEST, and ERNEST. Ernest is occasionally used for girls in 1991.

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