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English speaking countries

Cognate of the Germanic Ernst, the name was introduced to England in the 18th century following the coronation of George I (1660-1727), the "German King". George III's son Ernest Augustus, was the first of five Kings of Hanover to hold the name. Ernest Augustus V is married to Princess Caroline of Monaco.

The origins of the name support the pun found in the title of Oscar Wilde's play 'The Importance of Being Earnest'.

Ernest Hemingway was an author, and Ernest Rutherford was a nuclear physicist. Rutherford theorised the presence of neutrons in the atom, and later had element of atomic number 104 named after him: rutherfordium.