Ernest

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Ernest

Gender: Masculine.
Language: English, French
Etymology:
Ernest is the English form of an Old Germanic name, Ernust, from the word “eornost “ which meant “serious” or “battle to the death.” It is connected with the English word “Earnest” which means “sincere,” or “frank.”

History:
As Ernst, the name was popular among the German princes of the 17th century. It was introduced to England with King George I and the Hanoverians, although it did not catch on until the mid-19th century.

Pronunciation: ERR-nest.

Diminutives: Ernie.
Spanish: Ernestito.

Alternates: Earnest.
Czech: Arnost.
Hawaiian: Eleneki.
Hungarian: Erno.
German: Ernst.
Latin: Ernestus.
Spanish: Ernesto.

Feminine: Ernestine.

See also: Earnest, Ernesto.

Famous Bearers:
Artists and Authors:
Ernst Mortiz Arndt (1769-1860)
German writer.
Ernest Meissonier (1815-1891)
French painter.
Ernest Chausson (1855-1899)
French composer.
Ernst Zahn (1867-1952)
Swiss writer.
Ernst Barlach (1870-1938)
German sculptor.
Ernst (Erno) von Dohnányi (1877-1960)
Hungarian composer.
Ernest Bloch (1880-1959)
Swiss-American composer.
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938)
German painter.
Ernest Ansermet (1883-1969)
Swiss conductor.
Ernest Psichari (1883-1914)
French writer.
Ernest Claes (1885-1968)
Flemish writer.
Ernst Toch (1887-1964)
Austrian composer.
Ernst Toller (1893-1939)
German poet.
Ernest John Moeran (1894-1950)
English composer.
Ernst Jünger (1895-1998)
German novelist.
Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)
American writer. Winner of the 1954 Nobel Prize for Literature.
Ernst Haas (1921-1986)
German photojournalist.
Ernest J. Gaines (1933-)
American writer.

Educators, Scholars, and Social Workers:
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg (1802-1869)
German theologian.
Ernst Curtius (1814-1896)
German archaeologist.
Ernest Renan (1823-1892)
French philosopher.
Ernest de Sarzec (1832-1901)
French archaeologist.
Ernest F. Fenollosa (1853-1908)
American Orientalist.
Ernst Troeltsch (1865-1923)
German theologian.
Ernst Bloch (1885-1977)
German Marxist philosopher.
Ernest Watson Burgess (1886-1966)
American sociologist.
Ernie Pyle (1900-1945)
American war journalist.
Ernest Nagel (1901-1985)
American philosopher.
Ernst Friedrich Schumacher (1911-1977)
British economist.
Ernest Mandel (1923-1995)
German Marxist economist.
Ernest André Gellner (1925-1995)
Czech-British philosopher.

Fictional Characters:
Ernie
A famous muppet on Sesame Street performed and voiced by Jim Henson.

Miscellaneous:
Ernest Percival Rhys (1859-1946)
British publisher.
Ernest Claes (1861-1899)
British tennis player.
Ernest Dowson (1867-1900)
British poet.
Sir Ernest Shackleton (1874-1922)
British explorer of the Antarctic.
Sir Ernest John Pickstone Benn (1875-1954)
British publisher.
Sir Ernest Oppenheimer (1880-1957)
German-British industrialist in South Africa.
Ernie Nevers (1903-1976)
American football player.
Ernie Banks (1931-)
American baseball player.

Political Figures:
Ernest-Marc-Louis Doudart de Lagrée (1823-1868)
French diplomat.
Ernst Thälmann (1886-1944)
German Communist leader.
Ernst Reuter (1889-1953)
German politician.
Ernst Kaltenbrunner (1903-1946)
Austrian Nazi leader.
Ernst Hasse (1946-1908)
German politician.
Ernest von Koerber (1850-1919)
Prime Minister of Austria.
Ernst Bassermann (1854-1917)
German politician.
Ernst Röhm (1887-1934)
Organizer of Hitler’s S.A. Murdered.
Ernest Charles Manning (1908-1996)
Canadian politician.
Ernest Mikhailovich Ametistov (1934-1998)
Russian statesman.

Religious Figures:
Ernest William Barnes (1874-1953)
Anglican bishop of Birmingham.

Royalty:
Ernest I (1601-1675)
Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. Called Ernest the Pious.
Ernest Augustus (1629-1698)
Duke of Hanover. Grandfather of King George I of England.
Ernest Augustus (1771-1851)
King of Hanover. Son of King George III of England.
Ernest I (1784-1844)
Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Uncle to Queen Victoria of England and father to Prince Albert.
Ernest II (1818-1893)
Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Brother-in-law and cousin to Queen Victoria of England.
Ernest Augustus (1845-1923)
Tried to regain his father’s throne in Hanover.
Ernest Louis (1868-1937)
Grand Duke of Hesse-Darnstadt. Grandson of Queen Victoria of England.

Scientists:
Ernst Heinrich Weber (1795-1878)
German anatomist.
Ernst Eduard Kummer (1810-1893)
German mathematician.
Ernst Wilhelm Brücke (1819-1892)
German physiologist.
Ernst Engel (1821-1896)
German statistician.
Ernst Felix Hoppe-Seyler (1825-1895)
German physician.
Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919)
German zoologist.
Ernst von Bergmann (1836-1907)
German surgeon.
Ernst Mach (1838-1916)
German physicist.
Ernest Solvay (1838-1922)
Belgian chemist.
Ernst Abbe (1840-1905)
German physicist.
Ernest Thompson Seton (1860-1946)
English naturalist.
Ernest William Brown (1866-1938)
British-American mathematician.
Ernest Henry Starling (1866-1927)
British physiologist.
Ernst Julius Cohen (1869-1944)
Dutch chemist.
Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937)
British physicist. Winner of the 1908 Nobel Prize for Chemistry.
Ernst F. Alexanderson (1878-1975)
Swedish-American television pioneer.
Ernest Jones (1879-1958)
British psychoanalyst.
Ernst Heinrich Heinkel (1888-1958)
German engineer.
Ernest Julius Öpik (1893-1985)
Estonian astronomer.
Ernst Weber (1901-1996)
Austrian-American engineer.
Ernest Orlando Lawrence (1901-1958)
American physicist. Winner of the 1939 Nobel Prize for Physics.
Ernest Thomas Sinton Walton (1903-1995)
Irish physicist. Co-winner of the 1951 Nobel Prize for Physics.
Ernst Mayr (1904-)
German-American biologist.
Sir Ernst Boris Chain (1946-1908)
German-British biochemist.Co-winner of the 1945 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.
Ernst Ruska (1906-1988)
German engineer. Co-winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize for Physics.
Ernst Otto Fischer (1918-)
German chemist. Co-winner of the 1973 Nobel Prize for Chemistry.
Ernst Wynder (1922-1999)
German-American physician. Helped link cigarettes to cancer.

Singers and Entertainers:
Ernest Anthony “Tito” Puente, Jr. (1923-2000)
American bandleader.
Ernie Wise (1925-1999)
British comedian and actor.
Ernie Hudson (1945-)
American actor.

Popularity:
Percentage from the 1990 U.S. Census:
0.215 % named Ernest
0.037 % named Ernesto
0.031 % named Earnest
0.015 % named Ernie

Popularity of Ernest:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1850: 146th most popular.
1875: 51st most popular.
1900-1910: 26th most popular.
1910-1920: 33rd most popular.
1920-1930: 37th most popular.
1930-1940: 51st most popular.
1940-1950: 67th most popular.
1950-1960: 92nd most popular.
1960-1970: 129th most popular.
1970-1980: 171st most popular.
1980-1990: 222nd most popular.
1990: 294th most popular.
1991: 316th most popular.
1992: 352nd most popular.
1993: 382nd most popular.
1994: 399th most popular.
1995: 466th most popular.
1996: 437th most popular.
1997: 464th most popular.
1998: 484th most popular.
1999: 540th most popular.
2000: 518th most popular.
2001: 581st most popular.
2002: 595th most popular.
2003: 598th most popular.

In France...
1900: 27th most popular.
1910: 30th most popular.
1920: 43rd most popular.
1930: 55th most popular.
1940: 75th most popular.
1950: 132nd most popular.
1957: 193rd most popular.
1960-2000: N/A

Popularity of Ernie:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-1910: 757th most popular.
1910-1920: 688th most popular.
1920-1930: 695th most popular.
1930-1940: 592nd most popular.
1940-1950: 392nd most popular.
1950-1960: 413th most popular.
1960-1970: 492nd most popular.
1970-1980: 663rd most popular.
1980-1990: 789th most popular.
1990-2000: N/A

Popularity of Ernst:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-1910: 489th most popular.
1910-1920: 722nd most popular.
1920-2000: N/A