girl's name

Emer

  • Origin Irish
  • Gender Girl
  • Letters 4
  • Popularity Top 1000 (Ireland)
  • Births on record 5,408

Northern Ireland

#280

2024 births

Emer is a girl's name. In 2006 it was given to 6 babies in the United States. It is a well-established, commonly used name.

  • Emer is a name of Irish origin.
  • Peaked in Ireland in 1983, when 195 babies were given the name.
  • It has been falling over the past decade in Ireland.
  • Today about 1 in 8,971 babies in Ireland is given this name.
  • First appears in birth records in 1964.

Emer over time

Births per decade in Ireland, 1960s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.

1,428
'60 '70 '80 '90 '00 '10 '20
Show the numbers
Births named Emer by decade in Ireland
Decade Births
1960s 451
1970s 1,319
1980s 1,428
1990s 824
2000s 509
2010s 216
2020s (to 2025) 42

How popular is Emer?

In 2025, Emer was given to 5 babies in Ireland, ranking #689 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.

Where Emer is used

Northern Ireland #280 6 in 2024
Ireland #689 5 in 2025
Scotland #788 3 in 2003
England & Wales #7,046 3 in 2022
United States #16,644 6 in 2006

The bar shows how near the top of each country's list the name sits, on a scale where #1 fills the row and #1,000 is a sliver. The figures beside it are the real rank and the babies recorded that year.

Irish figures withhold any name given to fewer than three babies in a year, so a gap means the name fell below that floor rather than went unused. The Central Statistics Office began recording the síneadh fada in 2018, so accented and unaccented spellings are counted separately from that year on. Data & sources.

Names that peaked alongside Emer

These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.

Parents who like Emer also like

Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Emer over the last century — the same taste, a different name.

Sibling names for Emer

Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Emer — the two things that make a sibling set grate.

Common questions about Emer

How popular is the name Emer?

In 2025, Emer was given to 5 babies in Ireland, ranking #689 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.

Is Emer a girl's or a boy's name?

Emer is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.

When was Emer most popular?

Emer peaked in 1983, when 195 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.

Is Emer a good name?

That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Emer currently ranks #280 in Ireland. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.