Ernest

Ernest came into English from the German Ernst, carrying its literal meaning—"serious, resolute"—like a small Latin tag pinned to the lapel. Oscar Wilde made the perfect joke of it, and Hemingway made the perfect myth; between them, the name learned to hold both a waistcoat and a rifle. It peaked in the United States in the early twentieth century and has drifted gently out of the top ranks since, which leaves it ready for the sort of quiet comeback that names like Walter and Arthur have already enjoyed. Two syllables, gentlemanly and grounded. Ernest means what it says.