Algernon
Below 5 births
About Algernon
While this name came into being as a Norman-French nickname for a man with whiskers, the name was quickly embraced as a true name by the Victorians and is likely most familiar to you as the name of Oscar Wilde's fabulous character in The Importance of being Earnest . However, Algernon is not confined to the fictional world of satire; many real world namesakes exist including US footballer Algernon Crumpler (aka Alge Crumpler), British impressionist painter Algernon Talmage, and Canadian astrophysicist Joseph Algernon Pearce, who discovered many thinks about the Milky Way. Plus, who can go past the adorable nickname Algie?
Also appearing on the Telegraph Announcements more frequently than it may do elsewhere, it may additionally remind people of the mouse in Daniel Keyes' novel Flowers for Algernon.
Pronounced AL-jer-nun.
As of October 2026, Algernon ranked #12275 in US births in 2016 SSA, peaked at #965 in 1886, Nameberry popularity #921.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | — | 0 | 0 |
World rankings
Similar names
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Algernon on lists
Famous Algernons
- Algernon Charles Swinburne
English poet
- Algernon Henry Blackwood
English novelist
- Algernon Sidney
English political philosopher and politician
- Algernon Sidney Paddock
U.S. Senator from Nebraska
- Algernon Robert Fitzhardinge Kingscote
British tennis player
- Algernon H. Lee
American socialist politician and educator
- Algernon Usborne Willis
British fleet admiral
- Algernon Griggs "Algie" McBride
American baseball player
- Ralph George Algernon Percy
12th Duke of Northumberland
Algernon in pop culture
- Algernon Rowan
Webb: character on TV's "The Worst Witch"
- Algernon Moncrieff: young man
about,town in Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest" (from the 1895 play: "I really can't see why you should object to the name of Algernon. It is not at all a bad name. In fact, it is rather an aristocratic name. Half of the chaps who go into the Bankruptcy Court are called Algernon.")
- J. Algernon Hawthorne: character portrayed by Terry
Thomas in the 1963 film "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World"