Earnest

Last seen for girls in 1980 at #10,392 · #4,139 for boys in 2025, 25 births
Given to boys 98.8% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · boys
#104
1900 · 223 births
Debut · boys
1880
88 births
In top 100 · boys
never
of 146 years
Total births · boys
58,389
since 1880

Earnest over time

boys

Rank among boys' names. Earnest has never cracked the top 100 here.

#1#10#100#1,000#10,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201898peak #104, 1900boys
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025—#4,13925
2024—#5,44317
2023—#4,34324
2022—#4,30324
2021—#4,62821
2020—#3,73428
2019—#3,89927
2018—#2,94340
2017—#3,44032
2016—#4,19924
2015—#3,36533
2014—#3,03837
2013—#3,40531
2012—#2,48850
2011—#2,37653
2010—#3,07237
2009—#2,75344
2008—#2,46751
2007—#2,50450
2006—#2,17659
2005—#2,36549
2004—#2,10256
2003—#2,18050
2002—#1,81763
2001—#1,67769
2000—#1,68168
1999—#1,47777
1998—#1,23798
1997—#1,29488
1996—#1,30384
1995—#1,20692
1994—#1,030116
1993—#1,16392
1992—#911135
1991—#945126
1990—#849145
1989—#758169
1988—#756157
1987—#698170
1986—#642195
1985—#659178
1984—#655174
1983—#582210
1982—#534255
1981—#553236
1980#10,3925#539251
1979#10,2105#545245
1978—#568218
1977—#501266
1976—#469281
1975#7,9846#473285
1974—#474281
1973—#446306
1972#8,2925#434334
1971#6,0068#426362
1970#5,4139#417383
1969#7,4715#409380
1968—#393390
1967#4,30010#386379
1966#4,19810#368423
1965#3,73312#365443
1964#5,4747#391417
1963#6,5925#363468
1962—#353499
1961#4,00911#345524
1960#2,98917#320592
1959#3,25414#326559
1958#3,54312#298634
1957#3,48912#303631
1956#3,49312#272727
1955#3,77810#269696
1954#2,69517#250771
1953#2,59517#239787
1952#3,04013#233814
1951#3,10612#239803
1950#2,34118#213888
1949#2,34018#213888
1948#3,35010#211899
1947#3,06112#203982
1946#3,03411#202850
1945#1,87420#188807
1944#3,1399#182896
1943#2,07918#177940
1942#2,81711#192835
1941#1,88219#185812
1940#2,42412#184797
1939#1,88118#176808
1938#1,94517#175827
1937#2,73510#174833
1936#2,15314#169815
1935#2,00616#163881
1934#2,28913#161921
1933#3,1098#166858
1932#2,36513#169872
1931#2,42712#162916
1930#2,69011#153991
1929#2,30114#155996
1928#2,38114#1531,043
1927#2,33915#1481,062
1926#3,04610#1471,149
1925#2,37815#1481,103
1924#2,51414#1451,144
1923#2,02119#1461,063
1922#1,95720#1431,089
1921#2,50914#1381,128
1920#3,09710#1401,092
1919#2,51513#1391,064
1918#3,2449#1421,081
1917#3,7137#143924
1916#3,0319#155780
1915—#143824
1914#2,8767#147638
1913#2,5407#144521
1912—#132486
1911—#125283
1910—#128255
1909—#107255
1908—#111230
1907—#107225
1906—#117183
1905—#124172
1904—#110189
1903—#133140
1902—#121159
1901—#127131
1900—#104223
1899—#114146
1898#1,7005#114161
1897—#116148
1896—#124144
1895—#117143
1894—#119131
1893—#121132
1892—#116149
1891—#121114
1890—#120122
1889—#144101
1888—#118138
1887—#12999
1886—#131105
1885—#113120
1884—#132109
1883—#14887
1882—#134104
1881—#13292
1880—#15488
First appearance
1880

In the first year the SSA published name data, Earnest was already there! It came in at #154, and was given to 88 baby boys.

Quietest stretch: 2021–2025, when fewer than 26 boys a year got the name.

Where Earnest is popular in 1898

The SSA only publishes names by state from 1910 on.

See more about Earnest
Momentum · boys
Holding steady
  • 1,304 spots since 2024 (#5,443 → #4,139)
  • 405 spots since 2020 (#3,734 → #4,139)
  • 774 spots since 2015 (#3,365 → #4,139)
  • Biggest jump: 34 spots in 1992 (#945 → #911)
  • Biggest drop: 252 spots in 1993 (#911 → #1,163)
Rise & fade · boys
20 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1880
  • Peaked 1900 at #104 (223 births)
  • Births halved by 1993, 93 yrs later
Top of the charts · boys
Top 1,000 for 113 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: never
  • Top 1,000: 113 yrs · run 1880–1992
Share of babies · boys
1 in 643
  • Highest: 1 in 643 boys born in 1909 were named Earnest (0.16%)
  • Latest: 1 in 68,323 boys born in 2025 (0.00%)
  • Its best rank, #104 in 1900, was only 1 in 675 (0.15%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · boys
The 1920s
  • 18.6% of all boys named Earnest (10,869) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s1,043#113 (1885)#134
1890s1,390#114 (1898)#118
1900s1,907#104 (1900)#116
1910s6,856#125 (1911)#140
1920s10,869#138 (1921)#146
1930s8,722#153 (1930)#167
1940s8,706#177 (1943)#194
1950s7,310#213 (1950)#264
1960s4,515#320 (1960)#369
1970s2,961#417 (1970)#475
1980s1,995#534 (1982)#638
1990s1,053#849 (1990)#1,142
2000s559#1,677 (2001)#2,172
2010s364#2,376 (2011)#3,223
2020s139#3,734 (2020)#4,432

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 boys in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Earnest in 1898

girls
#1,700
5 births · 1 in 51,754 girls
boys
#114
161 births · 1 in 762 boys

Top girls' names in 1898

  1. #1Mary14,406
  2. #2Anna5,773
  3. #3Helen5,230
  4. #4Margaret4,696
  5. #5Ruth4,249
  6. #6Florence3,790
  7. #7Elizabeth3,659
  8. #8Ethel3,531
  9. #9Marie3,435
  10. #10Lillian3,061
  11. #1,700Earnest5

Top boys' names in 1898

  1. #1John8,159
  2. #2William7,400
  3. #3James5,321
  4. #4George4,853
  5. #5Charles3,557
  6. #6Joseph3,171
  7. #7Robert2,932
  8. #8Frank2,925
  9. #9Edward2,337
  10. #10Thomas2,161
  11. #114Earnest161
More about 1898

girls

258,769 girls got a published name in 1898; 1 in 51,754 of them was named Earnest, which outranked 13.9% of the 1,975 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 20.0% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Earnest
  1. #1,502Zana6
  2. #1,502Zera6
  3. #1,502Zonie6
  4. #1,700Earnest5
  5. #1,700Adlena5
  6. #1,700Afton5
  7. #1,700Alcie5

Tied with 275 names at #1,700; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1897
Risers
  1. ↑ 958Manila#1,263 → #305
  2. ↑ 889Ouida#1,555 → #666
  3. ↑ 858Ula#1,555 → #697
  4. ↑ 836Sofia#1,555 → #719
  5. ↑ 715Leonor#1,555 → #840
Fallers
  1. ↓ 833Vertie#867 → #1,700
  2. ↓ 821Fae#681 → #1,502
  3. ↓ 805Beda#895 → #1,700
  4. ↓ 805Nolia#895 → #1,700
  5. ↓ 769Azzie#931 → #1,700

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

boys

122,685 boys got a published name in 1898; 1 in 762 of them was named Earnest, which outranked 91.2% of the 1,289 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 34.9% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Earnest
  1. #111Marion166
  2. #112August164
  3. #112Morris164
  4. #114Earnest161
  5. #115Melvin159
  6. #116Emil158
  7. #117Isaac156
Biggest movers since 1897
Risers
  1. ↑ 578Fitzhugh#942 → #364
  2. ↑ 534Carson#1,057 → #523
  3. ↑ 490Enos#942 → #452
  4. ↑ 484Annie#1,057 → #573
  5. ↑ 484Ernst#1,057 → #573
Fallers
  1. ↓ 683Fate#438 → #1,121
  2. ↓ 648Ashley#473 → #1,121
  3. ↓ 626Ludwig#495 → #1,121
  4. ↓ 543Pierre#459 → #1,002
  5. ↓ 537Harve#584 → #1,121

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1898 →