Namesakes
Austrian Chancellors and Presidents:
1 chancellor
(chancellor) Ernst Streeruwitz 1929 
German Chancellors and Presidents:
1 chancellor
(chancellor) Willy Brandt (a.k.a. Ernst) 1969-1974
Nobel Prize Winners:
1 chemistry, 1 literature, 1 medicine, 1 peace, 1 physics
(medicine) Ernst Chain 1945
(literature) John Steinbeck (a.k.a. Ernst) 1962
(peace) Willy Brandt (a.k.a. Ernst) 1971
(chemistry) Ernst Otto Fischer 1973
(physics) Ernst Ruska 1986
Notable Actors and Entertainers:
2 actors, 1 presenter
Richard Dix (a.k.a. Ernst) 1893-1949
Thorsten Kaye (a.k.a. Ernst) 1966-
Ernst-Paul Hasselbach 1966-2008
Notable Artists:
1 painter
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner 1880-1938
Notable Athletes:
1 chess, 1 soccer
(chess) Adolf Anderssen (a.k.a. Ernst) 1818-1879
(soccer) Ernst Happel 1925-1992
Notable Filmmakers:
2 directors, 1 director/screenwriter
Ernst Lubitsch 1892-1947
Ernst Marischka 1893-1963
Wim Wenders (a.k.a. Ernst) 1945-
Notable Philosophers and Thinkers:
1 mathematician
Ferdinand Minding (a.k.a. Ernst) 1806-1885
Notable Politicians and Statespeople:
1 politician
Ernst Hirsch Ballin 1950-
Notable Scientists and Inventors:
3 physicists, 1 biologist, 1 inventor, 1 physician
Werner von Siemens (a.k.a. Ernst) 1816-1892
Ernst Haeckel 1834-1919
Ernst Mach 1838-1916
Ernst Abbe 1840-1905
Adolf von Strümpell (a.k.a. Ernst) 1853-1925
Ernst Ruska 1906-1988
Notable Writers:
4 authors
E. T. A. Hoffmann (a.k.a. Ernst) 1776-1822
Ernst Jünger 1895-1998
John Steinbeck (a.k.a. Ernst) 1902-1968
Hoimar von Ditfurth (a.k.a. Ernst) 1921-1989
Olympic Medalists:
4 bronze, 2 silver, 1 gold
(gold) Ernst Hoppenberg 1900 swimming - 200 m backstroke; swimming - 200 m team
(bronze) Ernst Schultz 1900 400 m
(bronze) Ernst Fast 1900 marathon
(silver) Ernst Wide 1912 3000 m team
(bronze) Göte Hagström (a.k.a. Ernst) 1948 3000 m steeplechase
(bronze) Ernst Larsen 1956 3000 m steeplechase
(silver) Ernst-Joachim Küppers 1964 swimming - 4x100 m medley relay
Other Royalty:
3 princes, 1 prince consort
Ernst Casimir of the Netherlands 1822 Netherlands
Waldemar of Prussia (a.k.a. Ernst) 1868-1879 Prussia
Wilhelm of Prussia (a.k.a. Ernst) 1882-1918; 1882-1951 German Empire; Prussia
Heinrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (a.k.a. Ernst) 1901-1934 Netherlands
Pulitzer Award Winners:
1 literature
(literature) John Steinbeck (a.k.a. Ernst) 1940 The Grapes of Wrath
Swedish Prime Ministers:
1 prime minister
Ernst Trygger 1923-1924
Swiss Presidents:
4 presidents
Ernst Brenner 1901; 1908
Ernst Wetter 1941
Ernst Nobs 1949
Ernst Brugger 1974