first name
EARNEST
of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census
Of the 16,573 people named Earnest, 56.9% reported their origin as Black, 36.4% as White and 2.9% as two or more races. 99.2% are male. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.
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Earnest peaked in 1926, when 1,159 babies got the name.
At least 59,115 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.
Earnest by decade
Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1880s, when it ranked #310. The largest share of babies named Earnest, 29.7%, were born between 1901 and 1927, the Greatest Generation's birth years.
Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.
Where Earnest is most common
Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Earnest has been most common in Mississippi (7.4×), Alabama (5.2×), and Arkansas (4.8×), and least common in New Jersey (0.03×).
50,488 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.
Either side of Earnest
Spelled almost the same
One first name in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Earnest, most common first.
Also a last name
As a last name, Earnest ranks #4,531 of 156,621, with 7,614 people. See Earnest as a last name
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🔎 EARNEST 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦⬜⬜ 1 in 18,224 Americans Rarer than 77% of us Peaked in 1926 with 1,159 babies Beat that 👇 https://howrareismy.name/first/earnest/