Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic languages, Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include:

People

*Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor *Ernest, Margrave of Austria (1027–1075) *Ernest, Duke of Bavaria (1373–1438) *Ernest, Duke of Opava (c. 1415–1464) *Ernest, Margrave of Baden-Durlach (1482–1553) *Ernest, Landgrave of Hesse-Rheinfels (1623–1693) *Ernest Augustus, Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1629–1698) *Ernest, Count of Stolberg-Ilsenburg (1650–1710) *Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover (1771–1851), son of King George III of Great Britain *Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1818–1893), sovereign duke of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha *Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover (1845–1923) *Ernest, Landgrave of Hesse-Philippsthal (1846–1925) *Ernest Augustus, Prince of Hanover (1914–1987) *Prince Ernst August of Hanover (born 1954) *Prince Ernst August of Hanover (born 1983), Prince Ernst August of Hanover (born 1983) *Saint Ernest (died 1148), German abbot *Ernest Adams (disambiguation) *Ernie Anderson (1923–1997), American radio and television announcer *Ernie Banks (1931–2015), American baseball player *Ernest Benach (born 1959), President of the Catalan parliament *Ernest Bevin (1881–1951), British Labour politician *Ernest Bohr (1924–2018), Danish lawyer, former barrister, and field hockey player *Ernest Broșteanu (1869–1932), Romanian general during World War I *Ernest Buckmaster (1897–1968), Australian artist *Ernest Radcliffe Bond (1919–2003), British police officer and soldier *Ernie Bond (footballer) (born 1929), English footballer *Ernie Bond (politician) (1897–1984), Australian politician *Ernest Borgnine (1917–2012), American actor *Ernie Calloway (born 1948), American football player *Ernie Cooksey (1980–2008), English footballer *Ernest Corea (1932–2017), Sri Lankan Sinhala journalist, List of ambassadors of Sri Lanka to the United States, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the United States from 1981-1986 *Ernie Cox (1894–1962), Canadian football player *Ernest Daltroff (1867–1941), French perfumer, and founder of Parfums Caron *Ernie DiGregorio (born 1951), American basketball player *Ernest Duff (1931-2016), American businessman, lawyer and Mormon bishop *Ernie Els (born 1969), South African golfer *Ernest Evans (cricketer) (1861–1948), English cricketer who played for Somerset *Ernest Evans (politician) (1885–1965), Welsh politician *Ernest E. Evans (1908–1944), officer of the United States Navy in WWII *Ernest Peter Arnold Fernando (1919–1957), Sri Lankan Sinhala businessman and mine owner *Ernie Fletcher (born 1952), American physician and politician, 60th Governor of Kentucky *Tennessee Ernie Ford (1919–1991), American country singer *Ernest Gold (composer) (1921–1999), American composer *Ernest Gold (meteorologist) (1881–1976), British meteorologist *Ernest Gjoka (born 1970), Albanian football coach *Ernie Green (born 1938), American football player *Ernesto "Che" Guevara (1928-1967), Argentine physician, author and Marxist revolutionary *Ernie Harwell (1918–2010), American baseball broadcaster *Ernest Haycox (1899–1950), American writer of Westerns *Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961), American writer *Ernest George Horlock (1885–1917), English recipient of the Victoria Cross *E. W. Hornung (1866–1921), English author and poet *Ernie Hughes (born 1955), American football player *Ernie Isley (born 1952), American musician, the Isley Brothers *Ernest Jones (disambiguation), multiple people *Ernest Juvara (1870–1933), Romanian physician *Ernest Koliqi (1903–1975), Albanian writer *Ernie Kovacs (1919–1962), American comedian, actor and writer *Ernest Krausz (1931–2018), Israeli professor of sociology and President at Bar Ilan University *Ernest Lawrence (1901–1958), American nuclear scientist *Ernest Lluch (1937–2000), Catalan-Spanish politician *Ernest Millington (1916–2009), British politician *Ernie Morgan (1927–2013), English football player and manager *Ernie Nordli (1912–1968), American animation artist and graphic designer *Ernest O. Lawrence (1901–1958), American physicist *Ernest Perera (1932-2013, Inspector General of Police (Sri Lanka), Inspector-General of Sri Lanka Police from 1988-1993 *Ernie Phythian (1942–2020), English footballer *E. V. Pieris, Ernest Victor Pieris (1926-1991), Sri Lankan Sinhala physician, medical educator, cricketer, and rugby union player *Ernest Poruthota (1931–2020), Sri Lankan Sinhala Roman Catholic priest and author *Ernest Prakasa (born 1982), Indonesian comedian, stand up performer, writer, and actor *Ernie Price (English footballer), Ernie Price (1926–2013), English footballer *Ernst Reuter (1889–1953), German politician and mayor of Berlin *Ernest Rutherford (1871–1937), New Zealand chemist and nuclear physicist *Ernest Shackleton (1874–1922), Anglo-Irish explorer *Ernest de Silva (1887–1957), Sri Lankan philanthropist *Ernest (musician) (K. Smith), American country music artist *Ernest Spybuck (1883–1949), American Indian autoethnographer *Ernest Thayer (1863–1940), American poet * Ernest William Tristram (1882-1952), British art historian, artist and conservator *Ernest Troubridge (1862–1926), British naval officer *Ernest Tubb (1914–1984), American country music singer and songwriter *Ernest Veuve (1843–1916), American Civil War soldier *Ernest Vinberg (born 1937), Russian mathematician *Ernest Walker (disambiguation) *Ernest Walton (1903–1995), Irish physicist and Nobel laureate *Ernie Watts (born 1945), American saxophonist *Ernie Watts (Small Heath footballer), English footballer *Ernie Watts (footballer, born 1872) (1872–1???), English footballer *Ernie Wise (1925–1999), stage name of English comedian Ernest Wiseman (1925–1999), Morecambe and Wise *Ernie Zalejski (1925–2012), American football player

Fictional characters

*Ernest T. Bass, a recurring character on the American TV sitcom ''The Andy Griffith Show'' *V.F.D. members#Frank and Ernest Denouement, Ernest Denouement, a character in Lemony Snicket, Lemony Snicket's ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'' *Monsieur Ernest LeClerc, on the BBC sitcom Allo 'Allo!'' *Ernest P. Worrell, main comic character of the series of ''Ernest'' films as played by Jim Varney *Ernest B. Raykes, in the film ''Cars'' * Ernest, one of the title characters of the Belgian-French francise ''Ernest & Célestine'' *Ernest, in ''The Swiss Family Robinson'' *Ernest Worthing, main character in ''The Importance of Being Earnest'', a play by Oscar Wilde *Ernest Perriclof, one of the main characters in Alexandra Adornetto's Alexandra Adornetto#The Strangest Adventures, ''The Strangest Adventures'' series *Ernest Greeves, a main character from the video game ''Layton's Mystery Journey'' and the associated anime ''Layton Mystery Tanteisha: Katori no Nazotoki File'' *Ernest Bonhour, one of the main protagonist in the French animated series The Long Long Holiday

People

Fictional characters

See also