Erne

See also: erne, Erné, -erne, érne, and érné

English

Etymology 1

From Irish abhainn na hÉirne, An Éirne, from a goddess or population called Érainn, which could be related to Old Irish Ériu (“matron goddess of Ireland”), in which case a doublet of Ireland.

Proper noun

Erne

1. A river in Ireland and Northern Ireland, starting in County Cavan, entering County Fermanagh, and passing through Upper and Lower Lough Erne on its way to the sea in County Donegal.

Etymology 2

• As an Alemannic German surname, from a short form of Arnold.
• As an English surname, from archaic erne (“eagle”).

Proper noun

Erne (plural Ernes)

1. A surname from German.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Erne is the 41426^th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 525 individuals. Erne is most common among White (91.62%) individuals.

Further reading

• Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Erne”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 1, New York City: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 533.