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BabyNames
Boy name#832 of boy names

Ernie

Pronounced ER1 N IY0 (ARPABET)

  • 2 syllables
  • Peaked 1959
  • 145 years in use
  • 3 spellings
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How popular is Ernie?

Ernie is a boys' name, and has been in the record since the data starts in 1880. It has been given to 17,295 children — the 832nd most common boys' name on record.

It is still recorded, but barely: 211 births across the past decade, against a peak of 450 in a single year. That peak was in 1959.

Three other spellings are counted in that total — Earney, Erney and Erny — because they are pronounced identically.

012525037550018901920195019802010
1959Boys: 450Girls: 5

Spelling variants

These spellings sound identical to Ernie and are counted together with it, which is why the totals here are higher than a single-spelling count.

  • Earney
  • Erney
  • Erny

Nicknames

Ernie is itself a short form of Ernest.

Characteristics

  • 2 syllables
Phonetic detail
Pronunciations:
ER1 N IY0
Stress pattern:
10
Syllables:
2

Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.

Names like Ernie

Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.

Sibling names for Ernie

Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.

Frequently asked questions

How popular is the name Ernie?
Ernie ranks 832nd among boys' names in US records, with 17,295 births since 1880. Over the past decade it accounts for 211.
Is Ernie a unisex name?
No. Ernie is recorded almost entirely as a boys' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.
When was Ernie most popular?
1959, when 450 children were given the name. It has been in use for 145 years and is still recorded as of 2024.
How else is Ernie spelled?
Earney, Erney, Erny. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.