Early vs Earnestine
American parents have registered 16,134 Earnestines since 1880, against 4,362 Earlys. But in 2025 it was Early that was commoner, 10 babies to fewer than five.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Early Earnestine
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 131 years in which either name was published, Earnestine for 84 years and Early for 47 years. The lead changed hands 10 times.
- 1880–1904 Early ahead
- 1905 Earnestine ahead
- 1906–1909 Early ahead
- 1910–1913 Earnestine ahead
- 1914 Early ahead
- 1915–1989 Earnestine ahead
- 1990–1992 Early ahead
- 1994–1996 Earnestine ahead
- 2000 Early ahead
- 2001 Earnestine ahead
- 2002–2025 Early ahead
Side by side
| Early | Earnestine | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 4,362 | 16,134 |
| Most in one year | 99 | 489 |
| Babies in 2025 | 10 | under 5 |
| Estimated living today | 1,200 | 7,300 |
| Median age today | 68 | 75 |
| Peak year | 1927 | 1944 |
| Best rank | 690th boys | 305th girls |
| Rank in 2025 | 7,679th | unranked |
| First recorded | 1880 | 1889 |
| Girls / boys | 373 / 3,989 | 16,073 / 61 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Earnestines alive today are over 75; half the Earlys are over 68. That is 7 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Where each one is strongest
- Early Alabama (11.8×), Mississippi (10.7×), Georgia (7.2×)
- Earnestine Mississippi (15.7×), Arkansas (8.6×), Alabama (6.7×)
How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Early and Earnestine.