FastNamesEmma
Germanic name meaning "Derived from the Germanic root ermen or irmin, meaning 'whole', 'universal', or 'immense'.". Ranked 3rd for girls in 2025.
Meaning and origin of Emma
Derived from the Germanic root ermen or irmin, meaning 'whole', 'universal', or 'immense'.
Linguistically, Emma is classified under Germanic naming traditions. It is typically pronounced "EM-uh".
Popularity and ranking
In official US Social Security birth records from 1880 through 2025, Emma has been given to a total of 776,439 girls. It has also been given to 1,733 boys.
Peak year: Emma reached its highest relative share among girls in 1881, when 2,034 babies received the name (22,120 per million births).
All-time best rank: 1st place, first achieved in 2008.
Recent standing (2025): Ranked 3rd with 12,754 births. Ten years earlier in 2015, it ranked 1st (down 2 spots).
Busiest decade: More girls were named Emma in the 2010s than in any other decade (195,070 births).
| Decade | Recorded births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 25,404 |
| 1890s | 28,652 |
| 1900s | 24,176 |
| 1910s | 41,819 |
| 1920s | 46,538 |
| 1930s | 30,022 |
| 1940s | 22,788 |
| 1950s | 14,613 |
| 1960s | 6,993 |
| 1970s | 4,665 |
| 1980s | 10,381 |
| 1990s | 58,252 |
| 2000s | 181,414 |
| 2010s | 195,070 |
| 2020s | 85,652 |
Source: Social Security Administration, national baby name data, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
Where Emma is most common in the US
Accounting for when Emma was in fashion nationally, it has been most heavily concentrated in the following states (measured against the expected rate from each state's births):
- Mississippi: 1.7 times the national rate (12,638 births since 1910).
- Vermont: 1.6 times the national rate (1,464 births since 1910).
- Alaska: 1.6 times the national rate (1,459 births since 1910).
- New Hampshire: 1.5 times the national rate (2,958 births since 1910).
- Alabama: 1.5 times the national rate (16,867 births since 1910).
Source: Social Security Administration, baby names by state, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a state in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
How many people have the name Emma?
About 570,000 living American girls and women share the name Emma. Additionally, an estimated 820 living American boys and men share the name.
The median age of an American named Emma is 17 years old.
Estimated from Social Security Administration records (1880–2025) and official SSA cohort mortality tables.
History of the name Emma
Emma originated in early medieval Continental Europe as a hypocoristic form of longer Germanic compound names like Ermengarde and Irmintruda. It entered England with dramatic prominence through Emma of Normandy (c. 985–1052), who served as queen consort successively to King Aethelred the Unready and King Cnut the Great, and who was the mother of King Edward the Confessor.
Following the Norman Conquest of 1066, Emma became one of the most frequently recorded feminine names in medieval English tax and court rolls. It received lasting literary prestige with the publication of Jane Austen's titular 1815 novel, ensuring its enduring appeal across nineteenth-century English-speaking households.
In early American Social Security records from the 1880s, Emma ranked consistently within the national top five before undergoing a long, gradual downward trend that saw it drop past rank 400 in the 1970s. Its remarkable revival started in the late 1980s as parents returned to classic Victorian names; by 2002 it was back in the top five, and it seized the number one spot in 2008 before enjoying an extended reign from 2014 to 2018.
Notable people named Emma
- Emma Watson (1990–), Actress and activist
- Emma Stone (1988–), Actress
- Emma Thompson (1959–), Actress and screenwriter
- Emma Goldman (1869–1940), Writer and activist
- Emma Lazarus (1849–1887), Poet
Variants and related names
Spelling variants
Diminutives and nicknames
Related names
Sources and references
- Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle, Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of First Names (2006), p. 89.
- E. G. Withycombe. The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names (1977), p. 103.
- Douglas Harper. Online Etymology Dictionary. Reference link.