girl's name
Emmy
EM-ee
- Origin Germanic
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 4
- Popularity Top 1000 (France)
- Births on record 33,162
the United States
#445
2025 births
Emmy is a girl's name of Germanic origin meaning "whole" or "universal," a diminutive of Emma. It ranks 138th in France and 445th in the United States, and it appears in every market we hold.
- Emmy is a name of Germanic origin.
- Peaked in France in 2012, when 815 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 1,531 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1905.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Emmy over time
Births per decade in France, 1900s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 20 |
| 1910s | 15 |
| 1920s | 50 |
| 1930s | 45 |
| 1940s | 40 |
| 1950s | 45 |
| 1960s | 25 |
| 1970s | 10 |
| 1980s | 125 |
| 1990s | 575 |
| 2000s | 4,055 |
| 2010s | 7,340 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 3,100 |
What Emmy means
Emmy inherits Emma's meaning: whole, universal or entire, from the Germanic ermen. The element means complete rather than large, and it is the same one behind Irmgard and Ermintrude.
Where Emmy comes from
Emmy is a diminutive of Emma, itself a short form of Germanic names beginning with ermen or irmin, meaning whole or universal — Ermengarde, Ermentrude and the rest. Emma of Normandy, queen of England twice over by marriage to Æthelred and then Cnut, carried the name to England in the eleventh century and made it permanent there. Emmy is also used for Emmeline, Emily and Amelia, which come from three unrelated sources: Emmeline is Germanic like Emma, Emily is the Roman family name Aemilius, and Amelia is from amal, work. The television award is named for the image orthicon tube, nicknamed the immy, feminized to Emmy in 1949 — which has nothing to do with the name and reliably surfaces in any search for it.
Emmy in use
Emmy ranks 138th in France with about 390 births in 2025 and 445th in the United States, and it appears in every market we hold — 396th in England and Wales, 392nd in Ireland, 353rd in Scotland, 256th in Northern Ireland. Our records mark it stable with a peak in 2012 and carry it from 1905. That seven-market spread is rare for a diminutive.
How popular is Emmy?
In 2025, Emmy was given to 385 babies in France, ranking #138 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Emmy is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
How Emmy is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Émmy | Émmy is a rare spelling of Emmy, written with an acute accent and recorded about 85 times, mostly in France. | 85 |
Names that peaked alongside Emmy
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Emmy also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Emmy over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Emmy 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 Emmy
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Emmy — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Emmy
What does the name Emmy mean?
Emmy means "whole" or "universal," inherited from Emma.
Is Emmy short for Emma or Emily?
It serves both, though they are unrelated names — Emma is Germanic and Emily is the Roman Aemilius.
Is the award named after the name?
No. It comes from the image orthicon tube, nicknamed the immy, feminized to Emmy in 1949.
How popular is Emmy?
138th in France and 445th in the United States.
Is Emmy a girl's or a boy's name?
Emmy is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Emmy?
Emmy has 2 syllables.
Is Emmy a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Emmy currently ranks #138 in France. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.