This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Ensign" rank – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(May 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Ensign (/ˈɛnsən/;^[1]Late Middle English, fromOld Frenchenseigne ["mark", "symbol", "signal"; "flag", "standard", "pennant"], fromLatininsignia [plural]) is a junior rank of acommissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in theinfantry ornavy.

As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of theregimental colours, the rank acquired the name "ensign". This rank has generally been replaced in army ranks bysecond lieutenant.^[2] An ensign was generally the lowest-ranking commissioned officer, except where the rank ofsubaltern existed.^[3]

In contrast, the Arab rank of ensign (لواء,liwa') is not the carrier of a unit's ensign but the commander of that unit, and is today the equivalent ofmajor general.

According to Thomas Venn's 1672Military and Maritime Discipline in Three Books, an ensign's duties included not only carrying the colors but assisting the captain and lieutenant of a company and, in their absence, exercising their authority.^[4]

"Ensign" isenseigne in French, andchorąży in Polish, each of which derives from a term for aflag. The Spanishalférez and Portuguesealferes is a junior-officer rank below lieutenant associated with carrying the flag, and so is often translated as "ensign". Unlike the rank in other languages, the Spanish and Portuguese etymology has nothing to do with flags, but instead comes from theArabic for "cavalier" or "knight".

Fähnrich, in German, comes from an older German military title,Fahnenträger (flag-bearer); however, it is an officer-cadet rank, not a junior officer. The same applies to the Dutchvaandrig, which has a paralleletymology.

The Finnishvänrikki derives from the same Germanicroot word through the Swedishfänrik, but denotes the lowest rank of reserve officer in the Finnish ground forces, and is distinct from cadet ranks.

In the Swedish armed forces,fänrik is the lowest commissioned rank.

In the GermanLandsknecht armies (c. 1480), there existed the equivalent rank ofcornet, for a man who carried the troop standard (known as a "cornet"). Thecognate Dutch termkornet is still used in theNetherlands' artillery and cavalry units.

In theRoyal Canadian Navy, as explained below, the ranksEnseigne de vaisseau de 1re classe andEnseigne de vaisseau de 2e classe are the French equivalents for Sub-Lieutenant and Acting Sub-Lieutenant, respectively.

In theCanadian Army, Ensign(Enseigne) is the distinctive rank for Second-Lieutenant in the Guards Regiments.

InEstonian Defence Forces the equivalent of “ensign” islipnik. It is used mainly as a rank for reserve officers.

During theAncien régime in France, as in other countries, the ensign (enseigne) was the banner of an infantry regiment.^[5] As in other countries, the name began to be used for the officers who carried the ensign. The rank was renamedsub-lieutenant (sous-lieutenant) at the end of the 18th century.The Navy used a rank of ship-of-the-line ensign (enseigne de vaisseau), which was the lowest officer rank. It was briefly renamed ship-of-the-line sub-lieutenant (sous-lieutenant de vaisseau) in the end of the 18th century, but its older name was soon restored.

In many French-speaking countries, the rank is still used in the naval forces, usually split into a first and a second class (Enseigne de vaisseau de 1^re classe andEnseigne de vaisseau de 2^e classe respectively).

TheRoyal New Zealand Navy, unlike theRoyal Navy – whose uniforms, insignia, and traditions it inherited – created the ensign grade to equal the lowest commissionedRNZAF grade ofpilot officer and the New Zealand Army grade ofsecond lieutenant. It ranks above the grade ofmidshipman. Like the grade of pilot officer, it uses a single thin strip of braid.

The fact that the Royal Navy has no real equivalent to the lowest commissionedRoyal Air Force andBritish Army grades was one of the driving factors behind the RNZN's decision to create the ensign grade. Another was that, at the time, New Zealand was actively involved with the United States Armed Forces, so it made sense to balance the rank system out with that used by theUnited States Navy.

Until 1871, when it was replaced bysecond lieutenant, ensign was the lowest rank ofcommissioned officer ininfantry regiments of the British Army (exceptfusilier and rifle regiments, and the Marines, which always usedsecond lieutenant). It was the duty of officers of this rank to carry thecolours of the regiment. In the 16th century, "ensign" was corrupted into "ancient", and was used in the two senses of a banner and the bearer of the banner. Today, the term "ensign" is still used by theFoot Guards regiments, for instance during the ceremony oftrooping the colour. The equivalent cavalry rank wascornet, also being derived from the name of a banner.

• 
  1856 to 1871 British Ensign's collar rank insignia

Ensign
Navy and Coast Guard insignia
PHS and NOAA insignia
Country	United States
Service branch	United States Navy United States Coast Guard United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps
Abbreviation	ENS
Rank group	Junior officer
NATOrank code	OF-1
Pay grade	O-1
Formation	1789(Army) 1862(Navy)
Abolished	1815(Army)
Next higher rank	Lieutenant (junior grade)
Next lower rank	Master chief petty officer
Equivalent ranks	Second lieutenant

The rank of ensign was established in the U.S. Army by the act of September 29, 1789 (the first act of legislation after the adoption of theU.S. Constitution); each of the eight companies in theRegiment of Infantry was authorized one captain, one lieutenant and one ensign.^[6]: 560 With the passage of the act of April 30, 1790, the number of companies in the regiment of infantry was increased to 12 and each of the companies was authorized the same number of officers.^[6]: 560 The act of March 3, 1791 added asecond regiment to the Army strength, doubling the total number of ensigns.^[6]: 561

With the organization of theLegion of the United States authorized by the act of March 5, 1792, ensigns were retained in the companies of infantry and were included in the authorized strength of companies of rifles; in addition,cornets were added to the companies of dragoons.^[6]: 562

The ranks of ensign andcornet were abolished in theUnited States Army in the Army Organization Act of 1815.^[7]

In theUnited States Navy, the rank of ensign supersededpassed midshipman in 1862. Ensign is the junior commissioned officer rank in theUnited States Navy, theUnited States Coast Guard, theUnited States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps. This rank is also used in theU.S. Maritime Service and theU.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps. Ensign ranks belowlieutenant junior grade, and it is equivalent to asecond lieutenant in theU.S. Army, theMarine Corps, and theAir Force.^[8]

Where a newly commissioned ensign is assigned in the Navy is dependent on status as either an unrestricted line, restricted line, limited duty officer, or staff corps officer. For unrestricted line officers, depending on assignment to whichwarfare community, prospectiveSurface Warfare Officers (SWO) will spend 22 weeks at Surface Warfare Officer School followed by assignment to a warship for qualification as a SWO.^[9] Prospective Submarine Warfare Officers will attend Naval Nuclear Power School for 26 weeks, followed by Nuclear Power Training Unit (Prototype) for 24 weeks and Submarine Officer Basic Course for 12 weeks before reporting to their first submarine.^[10] Prospective Naval Aviators and Naval Flight Officers have a 12 to 18 month flight training track to earn their wings, followed by a six to nine-month training track in a Fleet Replacement Squadron before being assigned to fly combat aircraft in a deployable Fleet aviation squadron.^[11] Sea-Air-Land (SEAL) Special Warfare Officers attend a 6-month Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) course followed by a 4-month SEAL Qualification Training (SQT) course before assignment to a SEAL Team.^[12] Finally, Special Operations Officers, primarily Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) / Diver officers will have a training track similar in length to that of SEAL officers, to include schools for EOD, SCUBA, hard hat diving, airborne (parachutists) and combat arms skills training before assignment to their first operational assignment.

Restricted Line officers, depending on designator, may train, qualify and be assigned as naval intelligence officers, naval cryptographic officers, aircraft maintenance duty officers, meteorologists/oceanographers, information professionals, human resources professionals, public affairs officers, or a host of other specialties.

Still others may become staff corps officers in the Supply Corps, Civil Engineering Corps, Nurse Corps, Medical Service Corps, or be law school students or medical or dental school students in the Judge Advocate General's Corps, Medical Corps or Dental Corps, respectively.

Limited Duty officers are technical experts that rose from the enlisted ranks. They can fill positions from ensign to captain that require technical skills. LDOs must have been an E-7 (Chief Petty Officer) before applying to the LDO program. LDOs can be Division Officers, Department Heads, Officers-in-Charge, Executive Officers and Commanding Officers, ashore or afloat.^[13]

While the Coast Guard does not categorize its officers as unrestricted line, restricted line or staff corps, a similar career sorting and training process also takes place, ranging from those in operational fields such as cuttermen aboard Coast Guard cutters, Naval Aviators in Coast Guard Aviation, specialists in maritime safety and inspections, and a host of other Coast Guard officer career fields.

All ensigns will become branch officers or division officers in their first operational assignments, responsible for leading a group ofpetty officers andenlisted men in one of the ship's, squadrons, team's or other organization's branches and divisions (for example, engineering, navigation, communications, sensors or weapons aboard a warship, or similar functions in the operations, aircraft maintenance, administrative or safety/NATOPS departments in a flying squadron) while at the same time receiving on-the-job training in leadership, naval systems, programs, and policies from higher-ranking officers and from senior enlisted men and women in the Chief Petty Officer rates.

Navy and Coast Guard ensigns wear collar insignia of a single gold bar and because of this share the nickname "butterbars" with Army, Air Force, Space Force, and Marine Corps second lieutenants, who wear the same insignia.

In theUnited States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps – auniformed service in theUnited States Public Health Service — those wearing the rank of ensign are part of a commissioned officer student training, and extern program (COSTEP), either junior, for those with more than a year remaining of education in a commissionable degree (JRCOSTEP), or senior, for those within one year of graduating with a commissionable degree (SRCOSTEP).^[14] Some officers may hold a permanent rank of ensign based on their experience and education, but then can hold the temporary rank of lieutenant, junior grade.

In theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps (NOAA Corps) – auniformed service in theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — ensign is the most junior rank. All NOAA Corps officers become ensigns viadirect commissions and attending the NOAA Corps Training Center in New London, Conn.^[15] All NOAA Corps officers are either mariners or aviators.^[16]

In theUnited States Maritime Services (USMS) - a voluntary training organization of theU.S. Department of Transportation - ensign is the most junior rank.^[17] USMS officers are commissioned into theNaval Reserve after attending theU.S. Merchant Marine Academy^[18] or one of the other six maritime academies into the ranks of theU.S. Navy Strategic Sealift Officer Corps^[19] as an ensign.^[20]

• 
  Ensign
  (Belize Coast Guard)
• 
  Ensign
  (Republic of Fiji Navy)
• 
  Ensign
  (Irish:Meirgire)
  (Irish Naval Service)^[21]
• 
  Ensign
  (Liberian National Coast Guard)^[22]
• 
  Ensign
  (Namibian Navy)^[23]
• 
  Ensign
  (Royal New Zealand Navy)^[24]
• 
  Ensign
  (Philippine Navy)
• 
  Ensign
  (South African Navy)^[25]
• 
  Ensign
  (Tanzania Naval Command)
• 
  Ensign
  (United States Navy)^[26]
• 
  Ensign
  (United States Coast Guard)^[26]

• 
  Enseigne de vaisseau de 1^re classe
  (Sub-lieutenant)
  (Royal Canadian Navy)^[27]
• 
  Enseigne de vaisseau de 2^e classe
  (Acting sub-lieutenant)
  (Royal Canadian Navy)^[27]
• 
  Enseigne de vaisseau de 1^re classe
  (French Navy)^[28]
• 
  Enseigne de vaisseau de 2^e classe
  (French Navy)^[28]
• 
  Enseigne de vaisseau de 1^re classe
  (Madagascar Navy)^[29]
• 
  Enseigne de vaisseau de 2^e classe
  (Madagascar Navy)^[29]

• U.S. Navy officer rank insignia
• Comparative military ranks
• Sub-lieutenant
• Signifer
• Vexillarius
• Alférez

• Division Officer's Guide. James Stavridis and Robert Girrier. Naval Institute Press, 2004.ISBN 1-59114-799-9.

• The Definition of Ensigns – Chapter I.

• Military ranks
• Military ranks of Germany
• Military ranks of the British Army
• Military ranks of the United States Coast Guard
• Military ranks of the United States Navy
• Naval ranks

• Articles containing Irish-language text
• Articles containing French-language text
• CS1 French-language sources (fr)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from April 2022
• Articles needing additional references from May 2008
• All articles needing additional references
• Articles containing Latin-language text