Emma
/ˈɛmə/ · rhymes with “Gemma”
A queen’s name that came back to the top.
Germanic · irmin / ermen
A medieval queen and a Jane Austen heroine helped make it familiar. In the US it slipped to just 414 girls in 1976, then climbed back to #1 in 2008.
Emma at a glance
What Emma means
A name that began as “whole” — irmin / ermen
Emma most likely began as a short form of old Germanic names that start with the element irmin (also written ermen), a word usually explained as “whole”, “universal” or “great”. Names such as Ermengarde and Ermentrude are often given as the longer forms it grew from. The first woman called Emma in written records is a Frankish figure from early seventh-century Austrasia.
The Normans brought the name to England. Emma of Normandy married two English kings, Æthelred in 1002 and Cnut in 1017, and was the mother of two more, Edward the Confessor and Harthacnut, which helped make it familiar in the Middle Ages. Centuries later Jane Austen gave it a second life: her novel Emma puts the clever, meddling Emma Woodhouse at its centre.
In the Social Security files Emma appears in every year since 1880, and it began near the top: #3 in 1880. It slid for decades and was quietest in 1976, when only 414 girls received it, ranking #463. It climbed fast: 2,420 girls in 1990, 11,751 in 1999 and a peak of 22,719 in 2003. Emma has been the most popular girls’ name in the country six times (2008 and 2014 to 2018), and in 2025 it is #3 with 12,754 girls.
Source and context
The word history comes from Wikipedia and a published name dictionary that agree on the Germanic root, the people and books from Wikipedia, and every number from US Social Security data. We rewrite everything in our own words.
- Paragraph 1 Wikipedia: Emma (given name)
- Paragraph 2 Wikipedia: Emma of Normandy, Wikipedia: Emma (novel), Wikipedia: Emma (given name)
- Paragraph 3 US Social Security Administration
- Note Wikipedia: Emma (novel)
The numbers behind Emma
A look at the rankings over time and across places.
Popularity in motion
How Emma ranks among girls’ names each year, 2015 to 2025. A lower number means more popular.
Emma’s rank slipped from #1 in 2015 to #3 in 2025.
In babies the change is bigger than the rank suggests: 20,487 girls in 2015 and 12,754 in 2025, down 38%. Olivia, Ava and Mia have also lost babies since 2015.
Turning points for Emma
- 1880Near the top
#3 among girls · 2,003 girls - 1976Quietest year
414 girls · rank #463 - 2003Most babies
22,719 girls · rank #2 - 2008First time at #1
#1 · 18,830 girls - 2025Latest year
#3 among girls · 12,754 girls
Emma is strong across the country
Ranked by how popular Emma is among girls’ names in each state in 2025 (in-state rank, not births per head). Emma is the most popular girls’ name in the District of Columbia, New Jersey, New York, Texas and Utah, with Hawaii and Virginia next at #2. It is in the top ten in 43 of the 51 places in the data, which is why most of the map is dark: Emma is strong almost everywhere, not just in a few places.
- 1District of Columbia#1
- 2New Jersey#1
- 3New York#1
- 4Texas#1
- 5Utah#1
- 6Hawaii#2
- 7Virginia#2
- 8Alaska#3
Emma since 1880
Babies named Emma in the US each year, 1880 to 2025.
A favorite in the 1910s, quiet by 1976,
then back at the top.
Emma has been recorded every year since 1880. It reached 5,324 girls in 1918, fell to 414 in 1976, peaked at 22,719 in 2003 and stood at 12,754 in 2025.
Source: US Social Security Administration, national baby name data, 1880–2025. Calculation: NameMochi.
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The story around Emma
Notable people and namesakes
Early and historical bearers include the queen Emma of Normandy (died 1052), the poet Emma Lazarus (1849–1887) and the anarchist and writer Emma Goldman (1869–1940). More recent bearers include the actors Emma Thompson (born 1959), Emma Stone (born 1988) and Emma Watson (born 1990).
Emma in pop culture
Jane Austen’s Emma Novel
The 1815 novel about Emma Woodhouse, a young woman whose matchmaking goes wrong. It has been filmed many times, including the modern retelling Clueless (1995) and a 2020 film.
Madame Bovary Novel
Gustave Flaubert’s novel is built around Emma Bovary, a very different literary Emma.
Once Upon a Time TV series
The lead character of the series is Emma Swan.
Sound-alike & sibling pairs
Names like Emma
Computed from the same Social Security data as the Name Finder: names that were already loved before 1930, classics that are less crowded and names with the same length and ending.
Compare names
Four names near the top of the chart: Olivia (#1), Emma (#3), Mia (#6), Ava (#11). All of them have lost ground since 2015.
| Name | Style | Latest rank | Change since 2015 | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emma | Classic · Two syllables · Timeless | #3 | ↓ 2 places | Cooling |
| Olivia | Top-ranked classic | #1 | ↑ 1 place | Cooling |
| Ava | Classic favorite | #11 | ↓ 7 places | Cooling fast |
| Mia | Short and sweet | #6 | No rank change | Cooling |
Change is the move in rank since 2015, so a name can climb in rank while fewer babies are given it.
Stage compares the number of babies named in 2025 with 2015 (rising or cooling at 25% or more, fast at 50% or more).
What draws people to Emma
- Easy to say and to spell, and used in many languages, from Dutch and French to Finnish.Our view
- Old roots and a literary glow: a queen’s name and a novel heroine’s name in one.Our view
- In the top 5 for 24 years in a row, since 2002.From the data
- Almost entirely a girl’s name: 99.9% of babies named Emma are girls.From the data
- Short forms such as Emmy give it a relaxed everyday option.Our view
Things to consider
- A very common name, with 12,754 girls in 2025, so a child may well share it with classmates.Our view
- It has cooled from its peak: 22,719 in 2003, 12,754 in 2025, and down 38% since 2015.From the data
- Spelling: Emmy (695 babies) and Ema (164 babies) were also given in 2025.From the data
Common questions about Emma
Is Emma a boy’s name or a girl’s name?
Emma is a girl’s name. In 2025, 12,754 girls were named Emma against 14 boys.
What does Emma mean?
Emma most likely began as a short form of Germanic names that start with irmin or ermen, a word usually explained as “whole” or “universal”. Sources spell the root a little differently, irmin or ermen, but they agree on the idea of “whole”.
How common is the name Emma?
Very common. In 2025, 12,768 American babies were named Emma, which ranks #3 among girls. It was the single most popular girl’s name in 2008 and 2014 to 2018.
Is Emma still rising?
Not at the moment. Emma peaked in 2003 with 22,719 girls and has eased since, to 12,754 in 2025. Over ten years the count is down 38%, yet it still ranks #3, close to its best of #1 in 2008.
Who are some people named Emma?
Examples include Emma of Normandy, the actors Emma Thompson, Emma Stone and Emma Watson, the poet Emma Lazarus and the writer Emma Goldman. Emma Woodhouse in Jane Austen’s novel is the best-known fictional Emma.
Emma is an old name that has been through a full cycle of fashion. Explore more names in the Finder →
How these numbers are built
Sources → Calculations → Limitations
Sources
- The US Social Security Administration’s national and state baby name files, built from Social Security card applications for births in the United States.SSA baby name data
- Data year
- Births through 2025. New data arrives each May, and we recalculate this page then.
- Dates
- Published October 2026. Last updated October 2026.
- Word and history sources
- Word history, the queen, the novels and the people who share the name come from reference works.Wikipedia: Emma (given name)Wikipedia: Emma of NormandyWikipedia: Emma (novel)
Calculations
- Ranks
- A rank is the name’s position among girls or among boys in the SSA file for that year (most babies = #1). Girls and boys are ranked separately.
- Counts
- Babies given exactly this spelling. Spelling variants are counted separately.
- Growth, peaks, milestones, shares and comparisons are calculated by NameMochi from those files.How NameMochi calculates
- Similar names
- Groups are computed from the same files: names that were already loved before 1930, classics that are less crowded and names with the same length and ending. Names are on the same gender side as this one, and spelling twins count once.
- Stat cards
- The five cards are the most informative facts available for this name, picked by a score and shown in a fixed order.
Limitations
- US births only. The files record the sex shown on the application, which says nothing about how a child later identifies. Names given to fewer than five babies in a year are left out.
Source: US Social Security Administration. Calculation: NameMochi.