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

Baby name story: Nimrod Shackleton

Years before the the ill-fated Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, Ernest Shackleton led the Nimrod Expedition to Antarctica. The party set sail from Lyttelton, New Zealand, on January 1, 1908.

A few months later, a New Zealand newspaper reported that a local baby had been given an expedition-inspired name:

What would the infants say if they felt the full weight of the names that are put upon them? Since Lieut. Shackleton left for the Antarctic with the Nimrod a baby — presumably a boy — at Lyttelton has been christened “Nimrod Shackleton.” Shall we hear of a dainty wee girl being dubbed Mollymawk, and will these islands be by-and-bye picturesque with Albatross Jones, King Edward VII Land Smith, Penguin Peterson, Antarctica Adams?

I can’t find any record of the baby, but I can tell you that a “mollymawk” is a type of albatross whose name comes from the Dutch word mallemok (from mal, “foolish,” and mok, “gull”).

Sources:

Name-spotting: Melancthon

Sign inside Garden of the Gods park
Sign inside Garden of the Gods

We visited the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs recently. Inside the park, we spotted a “What’s In a Name?” sign that described how the park got its name back in the late 1850s:

As they looked over this area of cathedral-like rock spires, one man, Malancthon Beach, commented that the spot would be a great place for a beer garden someday. His friend, a poetic young man named Rufous Cable, replied that it was a place “fit for the Gods.”

It’s a cool story. To me, though, the first name “Malancthon” is way more interesting than the origin of the park name. :) Where did it come from?

Well, first, a couple of spelling corrections — Beach’s name was Melancthon, and Cable’s name was Rufus. They were two of the founders of Colorado City (which was later absorbed into Colorado Springs).

My best guess is that “Melancthon” is a tribute to 16th-century German theologian Philipp Melanchthon, one of the leaders of the Protestant Reformation. His surname at birth was Schwartzerd (“black earth” in German), but as a young man he Latinized his name to the classical equivalent Melanchthon (“black earth” in Greek).

CCC Company 1848, Camp SP-13-C, Morrison, Colorado

We also saw some names at Red Rocks, which is both a park and a famous amphitheater.

The amphitheater was constructed from 1936 to 1941 by men in the Civilian Conservation Corps, a work relief program that existed during the Great Depression. One display included a photo of 124 of the men in the local CCC. Here are their first names, sorted by frequency:

  • 5: Joe, Raymond
  • 4: Charles
  • 3: Arthur, Clarence, Edward
  • 2: Bill, Byron, Carl, David, Earnest, Edwin, Everett, Jack, James, Leo, Maurice, William
  • 1: Aaron, Albert, Aldine, Alfonso, Allen, Alva, Amos, Ancelmo, Arleigh, Aubrey, Audrey, Barnett, Blaine, Calvin, Celestino, Charley, Claud, Claude, Clayton, Cleston, Dale, Damas, Dan, Darold, Dick, Don, Donald, Ed, Elden, Elias, Elipio, Emerson, Emilio, Eric, Ernest, Eston, Fares, Frank, Fred, Glenn, Grant, Gust, Guy, Horace, Hubert, Irvin, Jake, Jasper, Jesse, Jim, John, Jose, Kenneth, Lawrence, Leland, Leonard, Lester, Louis, Lyman, Manual, Marvin, Max, Merce, Noah, Norman, Orval, Pasqual, Paul, Pete, Richard, Rowland, Rudolfo, Russel, Russell, Sandeford, Trenton, Willard

…What interesting names have you spotted while out and about recently?

Source: Melancthon Sayre Beach – Find a Grave

[Latest update: Jan. 2025]

Which of these “three sporty girls” has the best name?

The Endurance in 1915, during the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition.
The Endurance

I’m currently reading Alfred Lansing’s 1959 book Endurance, which tells the story of Ernest Shackleton’s ill-fated Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition (1914-1917).

One intriguing detail Lansing mentions early on is that, of the 5,000+ people who applied to be part of the expedition, three were women:

  • Peggy Pegrine
  • Valerie Davey
  • Betty Webster

They applied together in a single letter dated January 11, 1914. In the letter, they referred to themselves as “three sporty girls” who were “willing to undergo any hardships that you yourselves undergo.”

The names of these “sporty girls” aren’t particularly sporty, but which of the three — Peggy, Valerie, or Betty — do you like best?

P.S. Which of Shackleton’s actual shipmates had the best name, do you think?

Source: A letter of application to join Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance expedition – Scott Polar Research Institute

Louisiana family with 16 children

kinderfest

From the late 1890s to the early 1920s, Ernest Deme Grabert and Alexina Grabert (née Pertuit) of Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, welcomed 16 children — most of whom had names starting with the letter W.

Here are all 16 siblings, from oldest to youngest:

  1. Wilson (born in 1897)
  2. William (b. 1898), nicknamed “T-Lam”
  3. Witness (b. 1899)
  4. Wenise (b. 1900)
  5. Winnie (b. 1902)
  6. Willie B. (b. 1903)
  7. Wilda Josephine (b. 1904)
  8. Inez (b. 1906)
  9. Wilfred (b. 1908)
  10. Wildon Joseph (b. 1909)
  11. Wiltz Joseph (b. 1911)
  12. Norris Jean (b. 1913)
  13. Ernest D. (b. 1915)
  14. Lena (b. 1917)
  15. Darris J. (b. 1920)
  16. Dave J. (b. 1922)

Wildon (#10) went on to have seven daughters, most of whom had L-names: Leola, Lula, Lorella, Lorina, Lillie, Eloyse, and Louella.

Sources:

Image: Ein Kinderfest (1868) by Ludwig Knaus

[Latest update: Sept. 2024]