Esmeralda
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The story
Esmeralda is the Spanish and Portuguese word for emerald, from the Greek smaragdos by way of Latin, the deep green stone long tied to spring, renewal and the eye. As a name it arrived through story. Victor Hugo gave it to the beautiful, kind-hearted dancer at the center of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, and her name has carried that mix of warmth and tragedy ever since, through opera, ballet and film. It sits in the grand tradition of naming girls for jewels, alongside Ruby and Pearl and Jade, but with more music in it. In the United States Esmeralda reads as current as ever, strongest around the 2000s, especially beloved in Spanish-speaking families. Lush and romantic, with the ready short forms Esme and Esmé, it hands a child a green jewel and a heroine famous above all for her kindness.
How popular is Esmeralda around the world?
In the United States, 4,964 babies were named Esmeralda between 2020 and 2025. In Argentina, 1,018 newborns were given the name Esmeralda in 2024.
Esmeralda is on the official records of the United States, Argentina, Mexico City, Puerto Rico, Chile, Spain, South Australia, Brazil, Scotland, Montevideo, England and Wales, Canada, France and Poland.
United States
1 in 4,400
In the United States, 4,964 babies were named Esmeralda between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Esmeralda peaked in the 2000s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Argentina
1 in 650
In Argentina, 1,018 newborns were given the name Esmeralda 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
Mexico City City
1 in 890
In Mexico City, there were 132 registrations of Esmeralda 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 (2 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Puerto Rico
1 in 1,400
In Puerto Rico, 13 babies were named Esmeralda in 2025, and 325 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)
Chile
1 in 2,900
In Chile, 62 girls were registered as Esmeralda 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
Spain
1 in 4,600
In Spain, 9,775 residents are named Esmeralda, the 287th most common name among women, with a mean age of 43.6 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
South Australia
1 in 6,1002017
In South Australia, 3 girls were registered as Esmeralda in 2017.
The count never rose above 3 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
Brazil
1 in 10,000
At the 2022 census, 20,005 people in Brazil were named Esmeralda, ranked 1,069th, with a median age of 51.
Among people named Esmeralda living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1960s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 1,669 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
Scotland
1 in 11,000
In Scotland, 4 girls named Esmeralda were registered in 2024, the 638th most common name among girls that year.
The count never rose above 4 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
Montevideo City
1 in 12,0002011
In Montevideo, 2 girls named Esmeralda 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
England and Wales
1 in 15,000
In England and Wales, 40 girls named Esmeralda were born in 2025, the 872nd 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
Canada
1 in 19,000
In Canada, 19 girls named Esmeralda were born in 2024, ranked 1,286th 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 26,000
In France, about 25 girls named Esmeralda were born in 2025, ranked 1,393rd 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. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Poland
1 in 120,000
In Poland, 2 girls named Esmeralda were born in 2025, the 706th most common name among girls that year.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
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)
Austria
last on record 2024
Esmeralda 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 4 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 2020
Esmeralda is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 4 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
Not on the record in New Zealand: that registry withholds small counts, so rare uses may sit below its floor.
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 Esmeralda
Most people given the name Esmeralda 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.
Keep exploring
Names like Esmeralda · Names that go with Esmeralda · Nicknames for Esmeralda
The Esmeralda deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Esmeralda 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 Esmeralda fits with your family’s names and surname.
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