How Many People Are Named Ernestine?
An estimated 13,264 people in the United States have the first name Ernestine. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 71 years old, and Ernestine peaked in popularity in 1928 with 1,067 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Ernestine 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 Ernestine paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Ernestine is overwhelmingly female, 159 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- With an average bearer age of 71, Ernestine is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1965.
Estimated Living Americans
13,264
About 1 in 25,841 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Female
99.6% confidence
Average Age
71
years old
Peak Year
1928
1,067 births
Total Registered
44,191
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Ernestine
Ernestine is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 44,191 total births registered, 99.6% were female.
Ernestine as a male name
Ranked #3,691 in 1957
6 male births in 1957
Peak: 1931 (12 births)
Ernestine as a female name
Ranked #14,013 in 2021
6 female births in 2021
Peak: 1928 (1,057 births)
Ernestine: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Ernestine span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 9,661 babies were registered. Ernestine has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Ernestine by Decade
How has Ernestine 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.
Ernestine by State
Birth registrations for Ernestine span all 45 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, North Carolina, Georgia. The lowest are in Vermont, Nebraska, Rhode Island. On average, about 862 Ernestines were registered per state.
Ernestine + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Ernestine as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Ernestine
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
Ernestine: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ernestine?
We estimate approximately 13,264 people named Ernestine 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 25,841 Americans share this first name.
Is Ernestine a common name?
Ernestine is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 98.1% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 44,191 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Ernestine most popular?
Ernestine reached peak popularity in 1928, when 1,067 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Ernestine is approximately 71 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Ernestine a female name?
Ernestine is predominantly female. 99.6% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Ernestine Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Ernestine Smith, Ernestine Johnson, Ernestine 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.
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