Girl nameCurrently #2 in the USFalling
Emma
EM-uh//ˈɛmə//
2 syllablesPeak year: 20034 lettersStarts with E
Meaning & origin
Whole, universal
Emma comes from the Germanic element 'ermen' or 'irmin', meaning whole or universal, and was originally a short form of longer names like Ermintrude. It has been used by European royalty since the Middle Ages and was popularized in English by Jane Austen's 1815 novel of the same name, remaining a top-ranked classic ever since.
Emma's popularity over time
| Year | Births named Emma |
|---|---|
| 1880 | 2,013 |
| 1881 | 2,043 |
| 1882 | 2,310 |
| 1883 | 2,374 |
| 1884 | 2,596 |
| 1885 | 2,742 |
| 1886 | 2,775 |
| 1887 | 2,661 |
| 1888 | 3,104 |
| 1889 | 2,894 |
| 1890 | 2,996 |
| 1891 | 2,897 |
| 1892 | 3,140 |
| 1893 | 2,982 |
| 1894 | 2,952 |
| 1895 | 2,964 |
| 1896 | 2,883 |
| 1897 | 2,698 |
| 1898 | 2,796 |
| 1899 | 2,455 |
| 1900 | 3,116 |
| 1901 | 2,382 |
| 1902 | 2,525 |
| 1903 | 2,318 |
| 1904 | 2,324 |
| 1905 | 2,304 |
| 1906 | 2,232 |
| 1907 | 2,367 |
| 1908 | 2,357 |
| 1909 | 2,343 |
| 1910 | 2,624 |
| 1911 | 2,624 |
| 1912 | 3,367 |
| 1913 | 3,485 |
| 1914 | 3,983 |
| 1915 | 5,068 |
| 1916 | 5,234 |
| 1917 | 5,136 |
| 1918 | 5,343 |
| 1919 | 5,099 |
| 1920 | 5,248 |
| 1921 | 5,084 |
| 1922 | 5,029 |
| 1923 | 4,998 |
| 1924 | 4,920 |
| 1925 | 4,733 |
| 1926 | 4,503 |
| 1927 | 4,352 |
| 1928 | 4,037 |
| 1929 | 3,826 |
| 1930 | 3,577 |
| 1931 | 3,332 |
| 1932 | 3,348 |
| 1933 | 3,181 |
| 1934 | 2,967 |
| 1935 | 2,822 |
| 1936 | 2,846 |
| 1937 | 2,768 |
| 1938 | 2,688 |
| 1939 | 2,701 |
| 1940 | 2,628 |
| 1941 | 2,560 |
| 1942 | 2,622 |
| 1943 | 2,428 |
| 1944 | 2,259 |
| 1945 | 2,058 |
| 1946 | 2,081 |
| 1947 | 2,153 |
| 1948 | 2,104 |
| 1949 | 2,007 |
| 1950 | 1,901 |
| 1951 | 1,731 |
| 1952 | 1,709 |
| 1953 | 1,600 |
| 1954 | 1,537 |
| 1955 | 1,466 |
| 1956 | 1,347 |
| 1957 | 1,222 |
| 1958 | 1,084 |
| 1959 | 1,061 |
| 1960 | 978 |
| 1961 | 890 |
| 1962 | 806 |
| 1963 | 729 |
| 1964 | 769 |
| 1965 | 640 |
| 1966 | 619 |
| 1967 | 564 |
| 1968 | 498 |
| 1969 | 516 |
| 1970 | 529 |
| 1971 | 479 |
| 1972 | 453 |
| 1973 | 425 |
| 1974 | 491 |
| 1975 | 477 |
| 1976 | 415 |
| 1977 | 479 |
| 1978 | 443 |
| 1979 | 492 |
| 1980 | 531 |
| 1981 | 534 |
| 1982 | 567 |
| 1983 | 560 |
| 1984 | 685 |
| 1985 | 947 |
| 1986 | 1,264 |
| 1987 | 1,598 |
| 1988 | 1,806 |
| 1989 | 1,956 |
| 1990 | 2,429 |
| 1991 | 2,595 |
| 1992 | 3,213 |
| 1993 | 4,116 |
| 1994 | 4,770 |
| 1995 | 5,056 |
| 1996 | 6,156 |
| 1997 | 7,758 |
| 1998 | 10,460 |
| 1999 | 11,767 |
| 2000 | 12,575 |
| 2001 | 13,340 |
| 2002 | 16,572 |
| 2003 | 22,756 |
| 2004 | 21,722 |
| 2005 | 20,395 |
| 2006 | 19,150 |
| 2007 | 18,409 |
| 2008 | 18,841 |
| 2009 | 17,930 |
| 2010 | 17,381 |
| 2011 | 18,855 |
| 2012 | 20,992 |
| 2013 | 20,984 |
| 2014 | 20,974 |
| 2015 | 20,495 |
| 2016 | 19,566 |
| 2017 | 19,884 |
| 2018 | 18,827 |
| 2019 | 17,232 |
| 2020 | 15,733 |
| 2021 | 15,557 |
| 2022 | 14,513 |
| 2023 | 13,596 |
| 2024 | 13,501 |
Emma through the decades
- Emma peaked in 2003, when 22,756 babies were named Emma in the US.
- The 2010s were Emma's strongest decade, averaging 19,519 births a year.
- Over the last 10 years of data (2015–2024), use of Emma has fallen 13% compared to the 10 years before that.
- Emma currently ranks #2 in the US and is cooling off.
Nicknames
EmEmmie
Variants & spellings
EmmaEmaEmmy
Famous people named Emma
- Emma Watson — actress
- Emma Thompson — actress