Given name
Ernestina
“one who is determined; serious”·“one who is sincere and determined; serious”
Ernestina is a feminine form of Ernest. One English interpretation is “one who is sincere and determined; serious.”
Original GermanErna
Meaning & origin
What it means
In German use, Ernestina carries the interpretation “one who is determined; serious.” Ernestina is a feminine form of Ernest. One English interpretation is “one who is sincere and determined; serious.”
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is German.
How it developed
Ernestina is used as a feminine counterpart of Ernest.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1896. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Ernestina through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 5,309
- 0 boys · 5,309 girls
- Most popular year
- 1947
- 106 babies
- 2025
- 8
- #11,243 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −44%
- Cooling
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 8 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 11,243 among girls’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for girls was 106 in 1947. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 9,458 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Ernestina’s family of names
In English usage, Ernestina has a diminutive in Tina. Ernestina is a feminine form of Ernest. In English usage, Ernestina has a related form in Ernestine.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Ernestina has relatives in 5 languages. Lines run from its German roots to each of them.
Nicknames & forms 27
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Ernashort form · German
- Ernestinevariant · German, English
- Tinadiminutive · Asturian, English
- Ernestynevariant
- Erneshavariant
- Ernestavariant
- Enersteanavariant
- Ernesteanavariant
Show 19 moreShow fewer
- Earnesteanavariant
- Enersteenavariant
- Enersteenvariant
- Enerstynavariant
- Enerstynevariant
- Enerstinevariant
- Enerstinavariant
- Emestynevariant
- Emesteenevariant
- Emestynavariant
- Emesteenavariant
- Emestinevariant
- Emestinavariant
- Emestavariant
- Earnesteenavariant
- Earnestinavariant
- Earnestynavariant
- Ernesztinavariant
- Ernestynavariant
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Ernestina
- Princess Ernestine of Saxe-Weimar-EisenachDuchess of Saxony-Hildburghausen1740–1786
- Ernestina AbambilaGhanaian footballerborn 1998
- Ernestina de ChampourcínSpanish poet (1905-2019)
- Titina SiláBissau-Guinean resistance fighter1943–1973
- Ernestina Pérez BarahonaChilean activist1868–1951
- Ernestina Naadu MillsGhanaian former first lady
- Ernestina Edem AppiahGhanaian social entrepreneurborn 1977
- Ernestina Herrera de NobleArgentine publisher and executive (1925–2017)
- Ernestine Albertine of Saxe-Weimarfirst wife and consort of Philip II, Count of Lippe-Alverdissen (1722-1769)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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