Emerson
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Meaning
son of Emery
The story
Emerson is an English surname, "son of Emery," that America knows through the essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson and the 2010s revival that put it on girls as often as boys. Brazil got there decades earlier, by a faster route. In 1972 a São Paulo driver named Emerson Fittipaldi became Formula 1's youngest world champion yet, and won again in 1974; Brazilian birth certificates responded immediately. The census shows Emerson leaping from about two thousand births a decade in the 1960s to 44,000 in the 1970s, the exact years Fittipaldi stood on the podium, then holding near 50,000 a decade through the 1990s. It was an early demonstration of a pattern Brazil would repeat: motorsport and football as the country's real baby-name bureau. The essayist supplied the name; the driver supplied the babies.
How popular is Emerson around the world?
In the United States, 18,938 babies were named Emerson between 2020 and 2025.
Emerson is on the official records of the United States, Brazil, South Australia, Canada, New Zealand, England and Wales, Montevideo, Chile, Mexico City, Argentina and Spain.
Emerson crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record, of a Spanish-speaking one and of Brazil’s 2022 census, which counts people of every age. The full lists: English and Spanish · English and Portuguese · Spanish and Portuguese
United States
1 in 1,200
In the United States, 18,938 babies were named Emerson between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Emerson peaked in the 2020s. In 2025 Emerson went to 2,241 girls and 1,371 boys in the US Social Security record, one of the few names given to girls and boys in nearly equal numbers.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Brazil
1 in 1,200
At the 2022 census, 173,209 people in Brazil were named Emerson, the 190th most common name, with a median age of 32.
Among people named Emerson living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 2,056 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
South Australia
1 in 1,5002017
In South Australia, 7 boys were registered as Emerson in 2017.
In South Australia, 5 girls were registered as Emerson in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
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 1,700
In Canada, 138 boys named Emerson were born in 2024, the 239th most common name among boys that year.
In Canada, 71 girls named Emerson were born in 2024, the 423rd 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)
New Zealand
1 in 2,600
In New Zealand, 11 girls named Emerson were registered in 2025.
In New Zealand, 11 boys named Emerson were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
England and Wales
1 in 6,300
In England and Wales, 74 boys named Emerson were born in 2025, the 522nd most common name among boys that year.
In England and Wales, 19 girls named Emerson were born in 2025, ranked 1,584th 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
Montevideo City
1 in 8,2002011
In Montevideo, 3 boys named Emerson were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Chile
1 in 10,000
In Chile, 17 boys were registered as Emerson in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Mexico City City
1 in 39,000
In Mexico City, there were 3 registrations of Emerson in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Argentina
1 in 51,000
In Argentina, 13 newborns were given the name Emerson in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Spain
1 in 140,000
In Spain, 324 residents are named Emerson, ranked 3,168th among men, with a mean age of 37 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Austria
last on record 2016
Emerson is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
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 2018
Emerson 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 2022
Emerson is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 5 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 Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
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 Emerson
Most people given the name Emerson in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names like Emerson · Names that go with Emerson · Middle names for Emerson · English-Brazilian names · Gender-neutral names · Truly unisex names
The Emerson deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Emerson 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 Emerson fits with your family’s names and surname.
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