# Ernst

> English word · Proper noun · frequency rank #14,751

## Definitions
1. A surname.

## Etymology
Borrowed from German Ernst, a medieval royal name in Germany, from Old High German ernust (“vigor, strife”), from Proto-Germanic *ernustuz. Doublet of earnest.

## Easily confused with
- **est** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ernst-vs-est)
- **ERS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ernst-vs-ers)
- **eros** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ernst-vs-eros)
- **exist** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ernst-vs-exist)
- **erupt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ernst-vs-erupt)
- **east** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/east-vs-ernst)
- **erase** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/erase-vs-ernst)
- **earns** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/earns-vs-ernst)
- **erect** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/erect-vs-ernst)
- **ERNIE** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ernie-vs-ernst)
- **Ernest** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ernest-vs-ernst)
- **earnest** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/earnest-vs-ernst)

## Common misspellings (8)
`enrst`, `ernnst`, `ernsst`, `ernstt`, `ernts`, `errnst`, `ersnt`, `renst`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/ernst