Earnest Boy
How popular is Earnest?
#4,138 boy name in 2025
25 baby boys were named Earnest in the US in 2025, making it the 4138th most popular boy name.
21,465living people named Earnest (est.)
67median age of people named Earnest
59,115babies named Earnest since 1880
1 in 132,614US babies born in 2025
Earnest popularity over time
Boys Girls
| Rank in 2025 | #4,138 for boys (▲ 1301 from 2024) |
|---|---|
| Babies in 2025 | 25 boys |
| 10-year trend | Falling (-24% babies vs 2015) |
| Earlier ranks | #3,364 in 2015, #3,731 in 2020 |
| Peak year | 1926 (1,149 boys) |
| Highest rank | #104 in 1900 |
| First recorded | 1880 |
| Boys vs girls (last 10 years) | 100% boys, 0% girls |
| Chance a classmate shares it | 0.0% in a class of 25 kids born in 2025 |
Earnest counting every spelling
Social Security counts each spelling as its own name. Adding together the spellings that sound alike, the Ernest family of names ranked #900 for boys in 2025 (#944 the year before), with 238 babies in all.
| Spelling | Boys in 2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Ernest | 213 | 89% |
| Earnest | 25 | 11% |
Spellings are grouped by how they sound, using our own rules, so a few groupings may not match how your family says the name.
Earnest by decade
| Decade | Baby boys | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 1,043 | #113 |
| 1890s | 1,390 | #114 |
| 1900s | 1,907 | #104 |
| 1910s | 6,856 | #125 |
| 1920s | 10,869 | #138 |
| 1930s | 8,722 | #153 |
| 1940s | 8,706 | #177 |
| 1950s | 7,310 | #213 |
| 1960s | 4,515 | #320 |
| 1970s | 2,961 | #417 |
| 1980s | 1,995 | #534 |
| 1990s | 1,053 | #845 |
| 2000s | 559 | #1,673 |
| 2010s | 364 | #2,375 |
| 2020s | 139 | #3,731 |
Boy names about as popular as Earnest
Questions
- Is Earnest a boy or girl name?
- Earnest is mostly a boy name. Over the last 10 years, 100% of babies named Earnest were boys.
- How popular is the name Earnest?
- 25 baby boys were named Earnest in the US in 2025, making it the 4138th most popular boy name.
- When was Earnest most popular?
- Earnest peaked in 1926, when 1,149 boys were given the name. Its highest rank was #104 in 1900.
- How many people are named Earnest?
- 59,115 babies have been named Earnest in the US since 1880. We estimate about 21,465 of them are alive in 2026, with a median age of 67.
Source: Social Security Administration baby name data, 1880 to 2025 (names given to at least 5 babies of a sex in a year). Living-people and median-age figures are our estimates using US life tables. How we calculate.