Ernestine
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Meaning
feminine form of Ernest, 'serious, resolute'
Ernestine across languages
One shared root links 5 names across 3 languages.
Shared root: from German ernst "serious, resolute", imported to England with the Hanoverians
The constellation
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How popular is Ernestine around the world?
In the United States, 12 babies were named Ernestine between 2020 and 2025. In France, about 5 girls named Ernestine were born in 2025, ranked 4,428th among girls that year.
Ernestine is on the official records of the United States and France.
United States
1 in 1.8M
In the United States, 12 babies were named Ernestine between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Ernestine peaked in the 1910s and the 1940s in nearly equal measure. Ernestine went to 9,661 US babies in the 1920s and has no row at all in the published 2025 record. US Social Security holds back any name given to fewer than five babies of one sex.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
France
1 in 130,000
In France, about 5 girls named Ernestine were born in 2025, ranked 4,428th among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Austria
last on record 2021
Ernestine is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
England and Wales
last on record 2013
Ernestine is not on the 2025 record for England and Wales, where spellings under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
South Australia
last on record 1991
Ernestine is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Ernestine
Most people given the name Ernestine in the United States were born between 1940 and 1969. The Ernestine you meet today is most often in her 60s or 70s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Ernestine deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Ernestine truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Ernestine fits with your family’s names and surname.
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