Emma
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Meaning
"whole, universal," from the old root ermen; it began a thousand years ago as a short form of longer Ermen- names and has stood alone ever since, worn by medieval queens and Austen's heroine alike. About as classic as a girl name can get
Goes by Em, Emmie, Emmy. See all nicknames
The story
Emma has meant whole or universal for at least a thousand years, growing from a short form of Germanic names built on the root ermen into a name that stood alone by the eleventh century, when Emma of Normandy became queen of England twice over through two royal marriages. Jane Austen fixed it in literature in 1815 with a heroine she reportedly expected no one but herself to like very much. The American curve is a great valley: Emma was a top name in the 1890s, faded decade by decade to near invisibility at midcentury, then climbed all the way back to the very top in the 2010s. Few names have bookended a century so neatly, old enough for a great-great-grandmother and current enough for a kindergarten class, and it manages to wear both ages well.
Emma across languages
One shared root links 4 names across 12 languages.
Shared root: from Germanic ermen "whole, universal", begun as a short form of Ermentrude-type compounds
The constellation
More branches
Emma in song
Emma
Hot Chocolate (1974)
A soul record with a devastating turn, following a girl who dreams of being a movie star and does not make it, wrapped in one of the decade's best basslines.
On record since at least the 11th century: Emma of Normandy, queen of England.
How popular is Emma around the world?
In the United States, 85,748 babies were named Emma between 2020 and 2025. In Norway, 386 girls were given the name Emma in 2025.
Emma is on the official records of the United States, Norway, Chile, Austria, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Mexico City, Canada, France, Montevideo, Ireland, Spain, South Australia, Scotland, Poland, New Zealand, England and Wales, New South Wales and Brazil.
Emma crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record and of a Spanish-speaking one. The full list: English and Spanish
United States
1 in 250
In the United States, 85,748 babies were named Emma between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Emma peaked in the 2010s. Emma reached 46,730 US births in the 1920s, its high point before 1930, fell to 4,681 in the 1970s, and was back at 195,232 in the 2010s. Emma went to 20,497 US babies in 2015 and 12,768 in 2025, 62% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Norway
1 in 69register 2026
In Norway, 386 girls were given the name Emma in 2025.
share of the girls on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
Chile
1 in 76
In Chile, 2,352 girls were registered as Emma 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
Austria
1 in 140
In Austria, 559 girls named Emma were born in 2025, the 1st most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
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)
Argentina
1 in 140
In Argentina, 4,752 newborns were given the name Emma 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
Puerto Rico
1 in 170
In Puerto Rico, 104 babies were named Emma in 2025, and 1,885 have carried the name since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Mexico City City
1 in 240
In Mexico City, there were 481 registrations of Emma 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 (23 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Canada
1 in 270
In Canada, 1,358 girls named Emma were born in 2024, the 3rd 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)
France
1 in 280
In France, about 2,310 girls named Emma were born in 2025, the 7th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Emma, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Montevideo City
1 in 3002011
In Montevideo, 83 girls named Emma were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
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
Ireland
1 in 400
In Ireland, 137 girls named Emma were born in 2025, the 28th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
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
Spain
#10 · 2024
In Spain, 47,562 residents are named Emma, the 99th most common name among women, with a mean age of 16.1 years.
In Spain, Emma was the 10th most common name among girls born in 2024.
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
South Australia
1 in 5702017
In South Australia, 32 girls were registered as Emma 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
Scotland
1 in 600
In Scotland, 76 girls named Emma were registered in 2024, the 53rd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
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
Poland
1 in 880
In Poland, 279 girls named Emma were born in 2025, the 77th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
New Zealand
1 in 990
In New Zealand, 58 girls named Emma 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 1,100
In England and Wales, 536 girls named Emma were born in 2025, the 85th most common name 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
New South Wales
#65 · 2025
In New South Wales, 107 girls named Emma were registered in 2025, ranked 65th in that year’s top 100 for girls.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
Brazil
1 in 140,000
At the 2022 census, 1,349 people in Brazil were named Emma, ranked 6,760th, with a median age of 7.
Among people named Emma living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 493 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
Where Emma travels
Castilian · an international name that rocketed into Spain's top 10 in the 2020s
Scandinavian · universal, whole (hugely popular across Scandinavia and the US)
Italian · universal, whole
Global crossover · a US #1 for over a decade and simultaneously a top name in Germany, France, Sweden and Italy
Keep exploring
Names like Emma · Names that go with Emma · Nicknames for Emma · Middle names for Emma · Spanish baby names from Spain · Scandinavian baby names · Italian baby names · Global crossover names · Short names · The hundred-year rule · Climbers and fallers
The Emma deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Emma 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 Emma fits with your family’s names and surname.
Questions about Emma
What middle names go with Emma?
Henrietta (4 beats to Emma's 2, so the pair keeps its rhythm), Emelia (4 beats to Emma's 2, so the pair keeps its rhythm), and Joselin (3 beats to Emma's 2, so the pair keeps its rhythm). The full list, each pairing with its reason, is on the middle names page for Emma.
Is Emma too popular right now?
Emma is very common right now and holding steady. In US Social Security records since 1890, its score for the 2020s is 9 out of 10, up from 8 in the 2000s. It peaked in the 2010s. Before the 2000s it appears in every decade of the published lists, from 4,665 girls in its thinnest decade to 58,252 in the 1990s.
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