The Earnest surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,968 people carried this name — #4,452 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 37,000 people counted. That is up 1% from 7,865 in 2000.

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In the first U.S. census, 1790

44 families named Earnest, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 231 people lived in those households, 5.3 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 7 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Pennsylvania 21
South Carolina 7
Maryland 5
North Carolina 5
New York 3
Virginia 2
Vermont 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 238 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Earnest in American newspapers,
1850–1905.

Newspaper page from Morning Star carrying the name Earnest
Morning Star 1850-07-31
Newspaper page from Oxford Democrat carrying the name Earnest
Oxford Democrat 1872-05-14
Newspaper page from The Salt Lake Herald carrying the name Earnest
The Salt Lake Herald 1905-03-12

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Earnest in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1980s.

4,460 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Earnest. The most, 688, date from the 1910s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in South Australia, at 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 1,291
Victoria 1,053
South Australia 745
Queensland 717
Western Australia 371
Tasmania 233
ACT (Canberra) 24
Northern Territory 8

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Earnest.

Who carried it

People named Earnest,
with a public archive behind them.

  • James Earnest 1818–1900 · politician
  • Herbert L. Earnest 1895–1970 · military personnel
  • Adele Earnest 1901–1993 · writer
  • Ernest Penney Earnest 1901– · writer

Wikidata (CC0) · 7 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Earnest,
in the records of 3 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States501 records

501 records of the Earnest name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 312
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 118
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 28
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 23
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 9
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 6
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 4
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Willie Lee Earnest

    Born 1933; from Sunflower, Mississippi. U.S. Army, armor crewman; killed in action 1966 in South Vietnam. Buried at Raleigh National Cemetery, North Carolina.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Maxwell L. Earnest

    Born 1915 in Oregon. Enlisted 1942 at Portland; driver from Multnomah County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1956, buried at Willamette National Cemetery, Oregon.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Aug Earnest

    Arrived at New York in 1885 aboard the Saint Laurent from Havre, aged 17; farmer. From Russia; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 501 records for Earnest in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada17 records

17 records of the Earnest name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 16
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Geo Earnest

    Came to Ontario in 1873 aboard the Manitoban, landing at Quebec, bound for Port Hope, Ontario; Scotch.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record William Earnest

    Died 1866 in Mahone Bay, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record John Earnest

    Married 1894 in Middleton, Annapolis, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 17 records for Earnest in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Australia7 records

7 records of the Earnest name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 4
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 2
  • Tasmanian Names Index 1
  1. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record William Earnest

    Left Hobart in 1829 aboard the Swiftsure, bound for Port Jackson, as second officer.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record August Earnest

    Naturalised in Queensland in 1893.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 7 records for Earnest in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Earnest.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Earnest is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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