How popular is the baby name Ernest in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Ernest.

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Popularity of the baby name Ernest


Posts that mention the name Ernest

Loretta Lynn named her baby after Patsy Cline

Country singer Loretta Lynn (1932-2022)
Loretta Lynn

In mid-1961, up-and-coming country singer Loretta Lynn moved to Nashville and met established country singer Patsy Cline.

Cline quickly became both a friend and a mentor to Lynn. In her 1976 memoir, Lynn explained:

She taught me a lot of things about show business, like how to go on to a stage and how to get off. She even bought me a lot of clothes. Many times when she bought something for herself, she would buy me the same thing. […] She even bought curtains and drapes for my house because I was too broke to buy them.

In March of 1963, at the height of her career, Patsy Cline died in a plane crash in Camden, Tennessee.

The following year, Loretta Lynn and her husband welcomed their last two children — twin girls. One was named Peggy Jean after Lynn’s sister Peggy Sue, the other was named Patsy Eileen after Patsy Cline.

I named my daughter after Patsy. That’s how much she meant to me. When I had my twins the year after Patsy died, I named them Peggy and Patsy. If only Patsy had been there for that. She’d have liked it.

Loretta Lynn’s four older children were named Betty Sue, Jack Benny, Ernest Ray, and Clara Marie.

P.S. Patsy Cline’s birth name was Virginia Patterson Hensley.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from LorettaLynn1960s (public domain)

Popular baby names in Ukraine, 2023

Flag of Ukraine
Flag of Ukraine

The country of Ukraine is located in Eastern Europe. It shares a border with Russia, Belarus, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Moldova.

According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Justice, the top baby names of 2023 in the center-west part of the country — the city of Kyiv plus five nearby oblasts (Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi, Zhytomyr, Cherkasy) — were Mariya (Maria) and Yeva (Eva) for girls and Mark and Oleksandr (Alexander) for boys.

Here’s a visual of the area:

Map of Ukraine
Map of Ukraine

Below you’ll find the top names for each of the six locations. Rankings weren’t specified, so, in the tables below, I’ve written the names in the order in which they appeared in the news release.

Kyiv (city)

Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, has a population of over 2.9 million. Here are Kyiv’s top baby names of 2023:

Girl namesBoy names
City of KyivMariya
Solomiya
Yeva
Polina		Maksym
Mark
Tymofiy
Oleksandr
Danylo
Mykhaylo

The city’s rare names included…

  • Girls: Paulina, Oriyana, Yevdokiya, Klara, Vesna, Vedana, Dana, Astrid, Dzvinka-Iya, Sakhara, Oktaviya, Vohnena, Ariya, Afina-Penelopa, Yaruna, Dzvinka, Kylyna, Emmanuela, Ilariya, Mahda, Yustyna, Freya, Hlafira, Matilda, Iulianiya, Inha, Lili, Leonida, Zoreslava, Afina, Nefa
  • Boys: Zoreslav, Leslav, Yanislav, Veles, Ratmyr, Kyy, Lyutsyfer, Hraf, Korniy, Budymyr, Vir, Eney, Serafym, Yerofiy, Lyuksor, Elizar, Ioann, Harri, Adonis, Ares, Iliodor, Mars, Teo, Yan, Domian, Zevs, Hrey, Kay

Lyutsyfer and Lyuksor are the Ukrainian versions of Lucifer and Luxor, and Veles is the Slavic god of the underworld.

Kyiv Oblast

Kyiv Oblast has a population of over 1.7 million. Here are the region’s top baby names of 2023:

Girl namesBoy names
Kyiv OblastDaryna
Zlata
Polina
Sofiya
Yeva
Solomiya
Anna		Tymofiy
Tymur
Maksym
Mark
Bohdan
Oleksandr
Dmytro

The region’s rare names included…

  • Girls: Alisi, Luna, Snyezhka, Mane, Lisanna, Yesfir, Eluna, Virsaviya, Dominika, Roksana, Adel, Francheska, Armine, Slavyana, Yeremiya
  • Boys: Reyan, Leon, Karim, Sayan, Mikhey, Elman, Ruvim, Iliya, Teodor, Lavrin

Vinnytsia Oblast

Vinnytsia Oblast has a population of over 1.5 million. Here are the region’s top baby names of 2023:

Girl namesBoy names
Vinnytsia OblastMilana
Anna
Daryna
Alina
Anastasiya		Oleksandr
Dmytro
Tymofiy
Denys
Andriy
Maksym

The region’s rare names included…

  • Girls: Aviva-Svitantsvitayne, Infiniti-Marta, Nana, Ariella, Yesfir, Aya, Yevnika, Zarichna, Hloriya, Madonna, Vilena, Zhasmina, Daliya, Ayla, Dzhulyeta, Yustiniya, Liyel
  • Boys: Ruvym, Isaak, Kamil, Kimran, Yunus, Nikolos, Akim, Ernest, Ustym, Samuel, Vidar, Ilay, Ksavyer, Avel, Rozhden, Ioana

Svitantsvitayne appears to be an invented name based on the Ukrainian word svitanok, meaning “dawn.”

Khmelnytskyi Oblast

Khmelnytskyi Oblast has a population of over 1.27 million. Here are the region’s top baby names of 2023:

Girl namesBoy names
Khmelnytskyi OblastAnastasiya
Anna
Viktoriya
Yeva
Zlata
Oleksandra
Solomiya
Sofiya		Artem
Bohdan
Vladyslav
Danylo
Mark
Matviy
Myroslav
Tymofiy

The region’s rare names included…

  • Girls: Ayisha, Ameliya, Hoar, Eteri, Liliana, Miray, Tsvitana, Yaremiya
  • Boys: Bohomir, Yoan, Murat, Nektariy, Nikola, Nolan, Ovsiy, Radyslav

Zhytomyr Oblast

Zhytomyr Oblast has a population of over 1.21 million. Here are the region’s top baby names of 2023:

Girl namesBoy names
Zhytomyr OblastAnastasiya
Anhelina
Daryna
Yeva
Milana
Solomiya
Tetyana
Yuliya		Bohdan
Vladyslav
Danylo
Dmytro
Zakhar
Yevhen
Ivan
Roman
Taras
Yaroslav

Zakhar is a form of Zacharias, and Taras is based on the Ancient Greek name Tarasios.

The region’s rare names included…

  • Girls: Avreliya, Ahata, Ahnesa, Ahlaya, Ada-Mariya, Adel, Aymel, Alana, Aliche, Aliya, Amaliya, Ariel, Afina, Beatrysa, Versaviya, Vitsentina, Hnata, Ester, Zhasmin, Kamila-Rafaila, Kvitoslava, Laura, Nila-Ester, Samira, Teona, Tereza, Faustyna, Khafsa
  • Boys: Azmir, Alan, Artyom, Domyen, Elkhan, Ernest, Emmanuyil, Yehoriy, Zhdan, Ilay, Isa, Yonatan, Maverik, Matfyey, Monik, Myrolyub, Mukhammed Ali, Natan, Nikolas, Ostin, Ruvym, Savva

Myrolyub is made up of Slavic elements meaning “peace” and “love” — very good concepts to be focused on during wartime.

Cherkasy Oblast

Cherkasy Oblast has a population of close to 1.2 million. Here are the region’s top baby names of 2023:

Girl namesBoy names
Cherkasy OblastAnastasiya
Anna
Emiliya
Yeva
Zlata
Miya
Solomiya		Andriy
Bohdan
Zakhar
Maksym
Matviy
Oleksandr
Tymofiy

The region’s rare names included…

  • Girls: Alisiya, Vlastelina, Dinara, Elzara, Zakariya, Luana, Muna, Ruta, Teona
  • Boys: Alim, Vakula, Dobrynya, Edem, Yeseniy, Zlatan, Ilay, Remus, Samedin, Yarem

Vakula is the protagonist of the short story “Christmas Eve” (1832) by Ukrainian-born Russian writer Nikolai Gogol (Ukranian: Mykola Hohol).

P.S. Ukraine’s Ministry of Justice released the top baby names of 2022 for Kyiv and each of the five oblasts, but not for the center-west part of the country overall.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Ukraine (public domain)
Map: Adapted from Ukraine (1991-2014) location map by NordNordWest under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Baby born to circus performers, named after circus owner

Harry James in an advertisement (1942)
Harry James ad (1942)

Trumpet-playing bandleader Harry James — in full, Harry Haag James — was one of the most popular trumpeters of the big band era.

His parents were Maybelle and Everette James, “two of the principal performers in the Might Haag Shows,” which was “a traveling circus that only played small towns touring the South and Southeast.” His father, the director of the Mighty Haag band, was both a trumpeter and a cornetist. His mother was an aerialist who also rode horses and played the calliope.

Harry Haag James was born in early 1916 in Albany, Georgia — where the circus happened to be located at the time. His middle name was bestowed in honor of the circus’ owner, Ernest Haag.

Several sources claim that Harry James’ first name was actually “Henry,” but I found no proof of this. In fact, I noticed that his paternal grandfather’s name was also Harry.

P.S. Here’s a New England baby from the 1840s who was also named after a circus…

Sources:

Image: Clipping from Billboard magazine (21 Mar. 1942)

Popular baby names in Scotland (UK), 2024

Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom

Last year, the country of Scotland — which takes up the northern third of Great Britain — welcomed 45,779 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Olivia and Noah.

Here are Scotland’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2024:

Girl names

  1. Olivia, 266 baby girls
  2. Isla, 264
  3. Freya, 244
  4. Lily, 231
  5. Millie, 222
  6. Sophia, 214
  7. Amelia, 198 (tie)
  8. Emily, 198 (tie)
  9. Ella, 195
  10. Charlotte, 191
  11. Ava, 188 (tie)
  12. Bonnie, 188 (tie)
  13. Grace, 183
  14. Evie, 180 (tie)
  15. Ivy, 180 (tie)
  16. Rosie, 167
  17. Sophie, 164
  18. Maisie, 161
  19. Maya, 159 (tie)
  20. Orla, 159 (tie)
  21. Harper, 149
  22. Sofia, 147
  23. Aria, 142
  24. Poppy, 135
  25. Maeve, 129
  26. Mia, 126
  27. Daisy, 123
  28. Lucy, 113
  29. Willow, 106
  30. Mila, 105
  31. Elsie, 104 (tie)
  32. Hallie, 104 (tie)
  33. Esme, 102
  34. Ruby, 100
  35. Ellie, 99
  36. Zara, 98
  37. Lottie, 97
  38. Eilidh, 91 – pronounced EH-lee
  39. Ayla, 90 (tie)
  40. Chloe, 90 (tie)
  41. Layla, 89 (3-way tie)
  42. Sienna, 89 (3-way tie)
  43. Violet, 89 (3-way tie)
  44. Ada, 87
  45. Skye, 83
  46. Phoebe, 82
  47. Callie, 81
  48. Jessica, 80 (tie)
  49. Robyn, 80 (tie)
  50. Isabella, 79

Boy names

  1. Noah, 366 baby boys
  2. Muhammad, 293
  3. Rory, 275
  4. Theo, 270
  5. Leo, 260
  6. Luca, 255
  7. Jack, 247 (tie)
  8. Oliver, 247 (tie)
  9. Harris, 243
  10. Archie, 228
  11. Finlay, 220
  12. Alexander, 208 (tie)
  13. Jude, 208 (tie)
  14. James, 203
  15. Alfie, 196
  16. Brodie, 195
  17. Finn, 190
  18. Arlo, 177
  19. Charlie, 159
  20. Thomas, 154 (tie)
  21. Tommy, 154 (tie)
  22. Oscar, 151
  23. Lucas, 147
  24. Arthur, 145
  25. Freddie, 144 (tie)
  26. Mason, 144 (tie)
  27. Jacob, 141
  28. Lewis, 136
  29. Logan, 132 (tie)
  30. Max, 132 (tie)
  31. Harry, 124
  32. Albie, 123
  33. Cameron, 117
  34. Ollie, 116
  35. Myles, 111
  36. Callan, 108 (tie)
  37. Theodore, 108 (tie)
  38. Angus, 106 (tie)
  39. Reuben, 106 (tie)
  40. Harrison, 105
  41. Blake, 102
  42. Adam, 101 (tie)
  43. Caleb, 101 (tie)
  44. Sonny, 100
  45. Louie, 99
  46. Roman, 98
  47. Liam, 93
  48. George, 91
  49. Isaac, 90
  50. Luke, 89

Muhammad, which entered the boys’ top 100 in 2008, jumped from 11th to 2nd place.

And the bonny name Bonnie, which entered the girls’ top 100 in 2018, now sits just outside the top 10.

Last year’s fastest-rising girl names already in the top 100 were Violet, Arabella, Myla, and Chloe, while the fastest-rising girl names entering the top 100 for the first time were Eliza, Romy, and Nora.

The fastest-rising boy names already in the top 100 were Myles, Callan, Ruairidh, and Lochlan, while the fastest-rising boy name entering the top 100 for the first time was Reggie.

Una and Ernie, two of the top names in the Scottish archipelago of Orkney, were given to 19 baby girls and six baby boys (respectively) nation-wide.

Here’s a selection of the names that were given to just three babies each in Scotland last year:

Rare girl namesRare boy names
Aizal, Beira, Ceilidh, Davina, Este, Fleur, Greta, Hadley, Ines, Jemimah, Kassie, Lavinia, Merida, Nicola, Opal, Peach, Roxy, Safiyyah, Tully, Verity, Yuna, ZarishArgyll, Bruce, Cobi, Derek, Ernest, Frazer, Graham, Harbaaz, Innis, Justin, Korey, Lawrie, Malachi, Niven, Orran, Percy, Rui, Somhairle, Thorfinn, Uzair, Wilder, Zahir

Beira is a modern Scottish name for the Gaelic mythological figure Cailleach, and Innis is a Scottish Gaelic word meaning “small island, islet.”

(I can’t give you the usual sampling of Scotland’s single-use names because, as of 2024, the country has decided to stop releasing names given to fewer than three babies. The news release noted that “the exclusion of the names given to one or two babies is consistent with policies in England and Wales and Northern Ireland.”)

Finally, here are Scotland’s 2023 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United Kingdom (public domain)