Male name
Ernest
2,502 births (England and Wales, 1996–2025), peaking in 2025. Expression number: 9.
Origin
Borrowed in the 18th century from Ernst, a medieval royal name in Germany, from Old High German ernust (“vigor, strife”), only remotely related to modern German ernst or English earnest.From Wiktionary, entry “Ernest”, text under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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How many babies received it
From the official birth registers.
In England and Wales
Peak in 2025: 185 births. 2,502 births from 1996 to 2025. A name given mostly in the 2010s and 2020s. It really came into use around 2002. It is still given: 823 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Baby names in England and Wales, Open Government Licence v3.0.
In the United States
Peak in 1921: 5,723 births. 304,354 births from 1880 to 2025. A name given steadily, decade after decade, from the 1910s to the 1960s. At its peak, it ranked 21st among boys' names in 1885. It is still given: 1,001 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Social Security Administration, Popular Baby Names, public domain.
In Ireland
Peak in 1968: 11 births. 144 births from 1964 to 2025. A name given mostly in the 1960s and 1970s. Fewer than ten births recorded from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Central Statistics Office, Irish Babies' Names, CC BY 4.0.
Elsewhere in the world
The name in the birth records of the 10 countries we track. The period covered varies from country to country.
| Country | Births | Period | Best rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 54,710 | 1900–2025 | 28th in 1902 |
| Switzerland | 723* | 1915–2025 | — |
| Quebec | 143 | 1980–2025 | — |
| Belgium | 139 | 2014–2023 | — |
* These are the people living in the country, counted by year of birth, not the number of births.
Source: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms, Etalab Open Licence 2.0; Federal Statistical Office, First names of the population by year of birth, free use with attribution; Retraite Québec, Banque de prénoms, CC BY 4.0; Statbel, first names of newborns, CC BY 4.0 (one total for the whole period, no yearly breakdown).
The numbers of the name
Each letter has a value: A = 1, B = 2… I = 9, then J = 1 again (Pythagorean method). We add them up, then reduce to a single digit, except 11, 22 and 33.
■ vowel · ■ consonant
Expression
All the letters: talents, the way you act.
9
humanity, generosity, completion
5 + 9 + 5 + 5 + 1 + 2 = 27 → 9
Soul
The vowels: what drives you deep down.
1
initiative, independence, beginnings
5 + 5 = 10 → 1
Personality
The consonants: what others notice first.
8
power, achievement, your relationship with money
9 + 5 + 1 + 2 = 17 → 8
- Digits missing from the name
- 3, 4, 6, 7, 8
- Most frequent digit
- 5 · freedom, change, movement
The meaning of the numbers comes from numerological tradition; it isn't a measure of your personality. A full portrait needs your first and middle names, your last name at birth, and your date of birth. How we calculate
Your name and theirs
The number of each name, and the number of the bond, which comes from adding them together. A symbolic game: what your two names say together, to be read as a metaphor, not as a verdict on your relationship.