girl's name
Emma
EM-uh
- Origin Germanic
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 4
- Popularity Top 100 (US)
- Births on record 1,120,335
the United States
#3
2025 births
Emma is a girl's name of Germanic origin meaning "whole" or "universal," from the element ermen, found in older names such as Ermintrude. It entered England with Emma of Normandy, who became queen consort in 1002, and later gave its name to Jane Austen's 1815 novel.
- Emma is a name of Germanic origin.
- Peaked in 2003, when 22,756 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 260 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Emma over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 25,512 |
| 1890s | 28,763 |
| 1900s | 24,268 |
| 1910s | 41,963 |
| 1920s | 46,730 |
| 1930s | 30,230 |
| 1940s | 22,901 |
| 1950s | 14,657 |
| 1960s | 7,011 |
| 1970s | 4,681 |
| 1980s | 10,443 |
| 1990s | 58,322 |
| 2000s | 181,711 |
| 2010s | 195,232 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 85,748 |
What Emma means
Emma carries the sense of completeness or universality, from the Germanic root ermen, meaning whole or entire. The same root appears, in altered form, in names like Irma and Erma, and in the old Germanic god-name Irmin.
Where Emma comes from
Emma comes from the Old High German element ermen or irmin, meaning "whole" or "universal," a root that also survives in names such as Irma, Erma, and Ermintrude. The name arrived in England in the eleventh century with Emma of Normandy, who married two successive English kings, Æthelred the Unready and then Cnut the Great, and became one of the most powerful queens of the early medieval period. Emma fell out of common use for several centuries before being revived in the Victorian era, helped along by Jane Austen's 1815 novel Emma, and has been in steady use as a given name since.
How popular is Emma?
In 2025, Emma was given to 12,768 babies in the United States, ranking #3 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Where Emma is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Emma is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Émma | Émma is a rare spelling of Emma, written with an acute accent and recorded about 155 times, mostly in France. | 155 |
Names that peaked alongside Emma
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Emma also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Emma over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Emma
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Emma in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Emma
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Emma — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Emma
What does the name Emma mean?
Emma means "whole" or "universal," from the Old High German element ermen.
Is Emma short for another name?
No — Emma developed as its own name from the Germanic root ermen, though it shares that root with names like Ermintrude.
Who was Emma of Normandy?
Emma of Normandy was an eleventh-century English queen who married two kings in succession, Æthelred the Unready and Cnut the Great.
How popular is the name Emma?
In 2025, Emma was given to 12,768 babies in the United States, ranking #3 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Is Emma a girl's or a boy's name?
Emma is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Emma?
Emma has 2 syllables.
When was Emma most popular?
Emma peaked in 2003, when 22,756 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Emma?
Emma is usually shortened to Emmy and Emme.
Is Emma a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Emma currently ranks #3 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.