Ernst is of Germanic origin, derived from the Old German name 'Einhard', which means 'strong' or 'serious'. It was brought to England by the Normans and has been used in English-speaking countries since then. The name's popularity peaked in the late 19th to early 20th centuries but remains somewhat less common today.
"The name Ernist had two years with five births each in the late 1920s, resulting in a total of ten births."