Emma
Top 1000
About Emma
Emma has now been among the top girl names in the United States for several years, claiming the Number 1 crown in 2008 and again from 2015 to 2018 before dropping back to second place.
Emma is simple but has deep history, is streamlined and modern-feeling yet distinctly feminine. It's hard to find all those qualities combined in one name, which is exactly why so many parents (over 14,000 in the US last year) have chosen Emma, not just here but throughout the English-speaking world, Europe, and Latin America.
Emma has done handsprings up the charts internationally thanks to a legion of Emma heroines, from Bovary to Goldman to Jane Austen's protagonist, along with famous modern Emmas such as Emma Stone and Emma Watson. Parents who have turned from Emily to Emma seeking something more distinctive will have to keep looking.
It's worth noting that Emma, Emily, and the longtime British Number 1 Amelia, now in the US Top 10, all derive from different roots and have different meanings. But they continue to feel like very similar names.
Emma originated as a diminutive for Germanic names beginning with the ermen root. A very old royal name well used throughout the centuries—Queen Emma married King Ethelred the Unready in 1002—Emma is also historically associated with Lady Hamilton, the mistress of Lord Nelson and muse of painter George Romney.
Emma was given a big boost among popular baby names when it was given to Rachel and Ross's baby on Friends in 2002. It's also at the top of the list of the many fashionable girl names starting with E, which also includes Ella, Eleanor, and Eliza.
Parents who love Emma but think it's overexposed have been moving to such alternatives as Amelia, Emilia, Amelie, Emmeline, and Ella. But, of course, many of these names are poised to move up and take Emma's place near the top of the list.
Three of the hottest young female stars share the name: Emma Watson, Emma Roberts, and Emma (born Emily) Stone.
Pronounced EM-uh.
As of October 2026, Emma ranked #3 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #1 in 2015, Nameberry popularity #33.
Editor's take: The name Emma is a girl's name of German origin meaning "universal".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #1 | 20,962 | 11,734.5 |
| 2015 | #1 | 20,485 | 11,475.6 |
| 2016 | #1 | 19,548 | 11,031.5 |
| 2017 | #1 | 19,870 | 11,509.1 |
| 2018 | #1 | 18,818 | 11,062.4 |
| 2019 | #2 | 17,221 | 10,260.6 |
| 2020 | #2 | 15,714 | 9,720.7 |
| 2021 | #2 | 15,543 | 9,472.5 |
| 2022 | #2 | 14,498 | 8,839.5 |
| 2023 | #2 | 13,579 | 8,462.6 |
| 2024 | #2 | 13,485 | 8,323.1 |
| 2025 | #3 | 12,754 | 7,935.2 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Emma.
- Grace
- Sophia
- Olivia
- Ella
- Sophie
- Emily
- Isabella
- Mia
- Abigail
- Chloe
- Claire
- Lily
- Hannah
- Anna
- Ava
- Amelia
- Madeline
- Sofia
- Charlotte
- Eva
Emma on lists
Famous Emmas
- Emma of Normandy
Queen consort of Ethelred the Unread(y) and Cnut the Great of England
- Emma of France
Queen consort of Rudolph of Burgundy, King of West Francia
- (Adelheid) Emma Wilhelmina Theresia of Waldeck and Pyrmont
Queen consort of William III of the Netherlands
- Emma Kalanikaumakaʻamano Kaleleonālani Naʻea Rooke
Queen consort of Kamehameha IV of Hawaii
- Emma Tremblay
American actress
- Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson
English actress
- Emily Jean "Emma" Stone
American actress
- Emma Goldman
Lithuanian,American socialist and labor organizer
- Emma Thompson
English actress
- Emma Louise Slater
English dancer
- Emma Donoghue
Irish novelist and playwright
- (Carolyn) Emma Kirkby
English operatic soprano
- Emma
Princess of Anhalt,Bernburg,Schaumburg,Hoym; Princess consort George II of Waldeck and Pyrmont; mother of Queen Emma of the Netherlands
- Emma Lazarus
American poet
- Emma Louise Hewitt
Australian singer,songwriter
- Emma Moore
English actress
- Emma Caulfield
American actress
- Emma Kate Lahana
New Zealand actress
- Emma of Austrasia
daughter of Theudebert II and possibly wife of Eadbald of Kent
- Emma Hale Smith Bidamon
first wife of American Mormon leader Joseph Smith
- Emma Lockhart
American actress
- Emma Hart Willard
American suffragist and educator
- Emma De Caunes
French actress
- Emma Catherine Rigby
English actress
- Emma Ferguson
English actress
- Emma Kristina Degerstedt
American actress
- Emma Dumont (born Emma Noelle Roberts)
American actress
- Emma Jean Bell
American actress
- Emma Myles
American actress
- Emma Wedgwood Darwin
wife of biologist Charles Darwin
- Emma Lee Bunton aka Baby Spice
English singer of the Spice Girls
- Emma Howard
American actress
- Emma Louise Blackery
British vlogger
- Emma Härdelin
Swedish musician of Garmarna and Triakel, daughter of violinist Thore Härdelin
- Emma
Princess of Schaumburg,Lippe; daughter of Prince George William
- Emma Louise Willis
English TV Presenter
- Emma Reed Martelli
American child model
- Emma McKeon
Australian swimmer
- Emma Johansson
Swedish cyclist
- Emma Tonegato
Australian rugby player
- Emma Hellenkamp
American dancer and model
- Emma Mitchell
Scottish football player
- Emma Greer DiBiase
American Internet personality
- Emma Katherine Walton
Hamilton, English actress; daughter of actress Julie Andrews
- Emma Chawner
Scottish singer; daughter of TV presenter Lorraine Kelly
- Emma Ashley
daughter of fashion designer Laura Ashley
- Emma Frances Gough (b. 1953)
daughter of actor Michael Gough
- Emma Kristen Walsh (b. 1971)
daughter of musician Joe Walsh
- Emma Beth Bloomberg Frissora (b. 1979)
daughter of politician Michael Bloomberg
- Emma Ruck (b. 1987)
daughter of actor Alan Ruck
- Emma Raacke (b. 1991)
daughter of actors Natja Brunckhorst and Dominic Raacke
- Emma Rose Raimi (b. 1994)
daughter of director Sam Raimi and Gillian Greene
- Emma Taylor (b. 1997)
daughter of musician Mick Taylor of the Rolling Stones
- Emma Justine McBride (b. 1998)
daughter of singer Martina McBride
- Emma Claire Edwards (b. 1998)
daughter of politicians John and Elizabeth Edwards
- Emma Scarlet Faldo (b. 2003)
daughter of golfer Nick Faldo
- Emma Scott (b. 2001)
daughter of actor Eric Scott
- Emma Paula Vanderloo (b. 2004)
daughter of Dutch actors Robine van der Meer and Mark Vanderloo
- Emma Yoshiko Hedican (b. 2005)
daughter of skater Kristi Yamaguchi and ice hockey player Bret Hedican
- Emma Francisca Catharina van Vollenhoven (b. 2006)
daughter of Prince Pieter,Christiaan of Orange,Nassau
- Emma Tallulah Behn (b. 2007)
daughter of Princess Martha Louise of Norway
- Emma Rose Lima
daughter of producer Brenda Chapman; inspiration for Merida of Pixar's "Brave"
- Emma Cecile Rigonat (b. 2009)
daughter of singer Elisa and Andrea Rigonat
- Emma Metzelder (b. 2009)
daughter of footballer Christoph Metzelder
- Emma Elizabeth Biffle (b. 2011)
daughter of NASCAR driver Greg Biffle
- Emma Alonso Aranburu (b. 2013)
daughter of footballer Xabi Alonso
- Emma Marie Charlotte Sophie (b. 2015)
Princess of Prussia; daughter of Prince Georg Friedrich
- Emma Deru
daughter of vlogger Julie Deru
- Emma Rantalla
Finnish rhythmic gymnast
- Emma González
Parkland, FL shooting survivor and activist
- Emma Roberts
American actress
- Emma Elizabeth Myers
American actress
- Emma Watkins
The Yellow Wiggle (from 2013 to 2021)
Emma in pop culture
- Emma Woodhouse
main character in "Emma" by Jane Austen
- Emma Pillsbury
character on TV's Glee
- Emma Swan
character on TV's Once Upon a Time
- Emma Ross
character on TV's "Jessie"
- Emma Frost
character in X,Men comics
- Emma Cordelia Carstairs
character in The Mortal Instruments and The Dark Artifices series
- Emma Bovary
main character in "Madame Bovary" by Gustave Flaubert
- "Emma Zunz
" short story by Jorge Luis Borges
- Emma Geller
Green, Ross & Rachel's daughter on TV's Friends
- Emma Becker
character in The Lying Game series
- Emma Jane Hawthorne
character in Mother,Daughter Book Club series
- Emma Tolly
a character in Jenny Nimmo's "The Children of the Red King" series
- Emma Ryland
character on TV's Dallas
- Emma Alonso
main character on TV's Every Witch Way
- Emma Gilbert
main character on H2O: Just Add Water
- Emma Scorpio
Drake, character on soap General Hospital
- Emma Bloom
character in 'Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children'
- Emma Nelson
character on TV's Degrassi: the Next Generation
- Emma Peel
character on TV's The Avengers
- Aunt Emma
character in movie The Wolf of Wall Street
- Emma Horton
character from the movie Terms of Endearment
- Emma Ravenhearst
character in video game "Mystery case files"
- Emma Chota
character on TV's "Red Band Society"
- Emma Hatch
character in "The Sims 3" computer game
- Di. L. Emma Riddle
character in "The Sims 3" computer game
- Emma Tuttweiler
character on TV's The Suite Life on Deck
- Emma
character in book/movie ''Blue is The Warmest Colour''
- Emma Castelli
character on TV's "Alex & Co."
- Emma Wheeler
character on TV's Baby Daddy
- Emma Duval
main character on MTV's "Scream"
- Emma
a LEGO Friends character
- "Emma"
song by Imagine Dragons
- "For Emma
Forever Ago," album by Bon Iver
- Emma Geller
character from Netflix's "Greenhouse Academy"
- Emma Agreste/Dupain
Cheng, imaginary daughter of Marinette Dupain,Cheng and Adrien Agrest in Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir
- Emma Vanderboom
character in Rusty Lake: Roots
- Emma
main character in the manga/anime series "The Promised Neverland".
- Emma
aka Great Aunt Emma, also called Grinny , alien disguised as old elderly human woman in the 1973 Nicholas Fisk
- Emma Saylor Payne
main character in novel "The Rest of the Story"
- Emma Tanner
titular character in novel "Emma in the Night"
- Emma Stanton
main character in movie "Switching Goals"
- "When Emma Falls In Love"
Song by Taylor Swift featured on "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)"
- emma perkins
character from the guy who didn’t like musicals
- Emma Wiggle
The Yellow Wiggle (from 2013 to 2021)