How Many People Are Named Earnest?
An estimated 23,156 people in the United States have the first name Earnest. It is predominantly male (98.8%). The average bearer is 65 years old, and Earnest peaked in popularity in 1926 with 1,159 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Earnest as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Earnest paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Earnest is overwhelmingly male, 726 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- With an average bearer age of 65, Earnest is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1971.
- Earnest has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
23,156
About 1 in 14,802 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
98.8% confidence
Average Age
65
years old
Peak Year
1926
1,159 births
Total Registered
59,092
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Earnest
Earnest is predominantly male (98.8%), though 726 female births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Earnest as a male name
Ranked #5,489 in 2024
17 male births in 2024
Peak: 1926 (1,149 births)
Earnest as a female name
Ranked #10,826 in 1980
5 female births in 1980
Peak: 1922 (20 births)
Earnest: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Earnest span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 11,014 babies were registered. Earnest has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Earnest by Decade
How has Earnest tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 1,043 | 1,043 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 1,395 | 1,390 | 5 | |
| 1900s | 1,907 | 1,907 | 0 | |
| 1910s | 6,908 | 6,856 | 52 | |
| 1920s | 11,014 | 10,869 | 145 | |
| 1930s | 8,854 | 8,722 | 132 | |
| 1940s | 8,846 | 8,706 | 140 | |
| 1950s | 7,448 | 7,311 | 137 | |
| 1960s | 4,592 | 4,515 | 77 | |
| 1970s | 2,995 | 2,962 | 33 | |
| 1980s | 2,000 | 1,995 | 5 | |
| 1990s | 1,053 | 1,053 | 0 | |
| 2000s | 559 | 559 | 0 | |
| 2010s | 364 | 364 | 0 | |
| 2020s | 114 | 114 | 0 | |
Earnest by State
Birth registrations for Earnest span all 39 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, Alabama, Georgia. The lowest are in South Dakota, Oregon, Massachusetts. On average, about 1,295 Earnests were registered per state.
Earnest + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Earnest as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Earnest
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
Earnest: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Earnest?
We estimate approximately 23,156 people named Earnest are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 14,802 Americans share this first name.
Is Earnest a common name?
Earnest is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 98.6% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 59,092 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Earnest most popular?
Earnest reached peak popularity in 1926, when 1,159 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Earnest is approximately 65 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Earnest a male name?
Earnest is predominantly male. 98.8% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Earnest Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Earnest Smith, Earnest Johnson, Earnest Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
Search for a full name combination
How Many of Me