Emerald
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Meaning
the green gemstone, from Greek smaragdos via Old French
The story
An emerald is green beryl, colored by tiny differences inside a crystal. Its name traveled through Old French and Latin from Greek smaragdos, a word ancient writers used for green stones. The object traveled even farther. Mines in Egypt supplied emeralds to the Greek and Roman worlds; centuries later, Spanish invaders encountered richer Colombian stones already valued by Indigenous peoples and pulled them into a violent global trade. The gem's beauty and its history cannot be separated into sparkle on one side and people on the other. As a given name, Emerald may begin with color, nature, or a birthstone. Knowing the route makes the green deeper. It contains desert mines near the Red Sea, beryl formed underground, Colombian craftsmanship, and a word passed from language to language. Emerald is less a fixed shade than a long journey toward one.
How popular is Emerald around the world?
In the United States, 2,205 babies were named Emerald between 2020 and 2025. In South Australia, 2 girls were registered as Emerald in 2017.
Emerald is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, Canada, England and Wales and Austria.
United States
1 in 9,900
In the United States, 2,205 babies were named Emerald between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Emerald peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 9,2002017
In South Australia, 2 girls were registered as Emerald in 2017.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Canada
1 in 13,000
In Canada, 28 girls named Emerald were born in 2024, the 963rd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
1 in 29,000
In England and Wales, 20 girls named Emerald were born in 2025, ranked 1,512th among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Austria
1 in 76,000
In Austria, 1 girl named Emerald was born in 2025, ranked 1,875th among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Ireland
last on record 2022
Emerald is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Scotland
last on record 2021
Emerald is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico, New Zealand and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Emerald
Most people given the name Emerald in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Emerald deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Emerald truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Emerald fits with your family’s names and surname.
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