Ernest Dickerson
There are approximately 21 people named Ernest Dickerson living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 16,321,635 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Ernest with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Dickerson. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
21
1 in 16,321,635
Named Ernest
125K
Alive today
Named Dickerson
57K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 125K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1921
Average age: 64
Top Census group: White (57.5%)
Estimated bearers: 57K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #670
Per 100K: 16.57
Top ancestry: White (60.5%)
First name trend
Ernest: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Ernest. The peak year was 1921 with 5,723 births. The average person named Ernest today is 64 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ernest
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Ernest, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 57.5%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Ernest described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the name Ernest at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White57.5% · 65,687
- Black or African American24.1% · 27,574
- Hispanic or Latino12.6% · 14,450
- Two or more races2.5% · 2,911
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 2,296
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 1,383
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Dickerson surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Dickerson, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 60.5%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Dickerson described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the surname Dickerson at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White60.5% · 29,938
- Black or African American30.7% · 15,192
- Two or more races4.8% · 2,395
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 1,513
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 285
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 196
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Ernest has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0363% of the US population, based on 124,583 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
Even though the Census Bureau now publishes first-name tables, we do not use that file as the main first-name input for this estimate. The latest first-name Census snapshot is from 2020, which makes it 6 years old today. Because Census first-name data is only released once every 10 years, SSA birth records plus CDC survival rates give a better current estimate of how many people are likely alive with the name Ernest right now.
The surname Dickerson appears at a rate of 16.57 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0166%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 21 people with the full name Ernest Dickerson. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Ernest
FAQ
Ernest Dickerson: questions and answers
How many people are named Ernest Dickerson?
We estimate approximately 21 people in the United States share the full name Ernest Dickerson. That works out to about 1 in 16,321,635 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0363%) with the surname frequency (16.57 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Ernest Dickerson?
We classify Ernest Dickerson as "Very Rare". About 1 in 16,321,635 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Ernest a male or female name?
Ernest is predominantly male. Out of 304,137 total SSA registrations, 99.4% were male and 0.6% were female. See the full Ernest profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2020 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.
How many people are called Ernest Dickerson?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.