Emma Alternatives Part Three

Ella

German; English

"all, completely; fairy maiden"

Ella is a sweet, simple name that owes much of its current popularity to the popularity of other names, from Emma to Bella to Emily to Ellie. Ella is one of those names that has ranked in the US Top…

Eva

Latin form of Eve, Hebrew

"life"

Eva is a simple, classic Hebrew name for girls that recently slipped out of the US Top 100 for the first time in more than a decade. Pronounced either like her more popular sister Ava or less popular…

Ebba

Feminization of Ebbe, Swedish and Danish, or variation of Old English Æbbe

"bear god; brave boar"

Ebba, the feminine version of Ebbe (a diminutive of Eberhard or Asbjorn) and also a form of an old English name, is in the Swedish Top 10 but virtually unknown in the US. However, with the rise of…

Edra

Edra is a concise feminine name with multiple possible origins. It may derive from the Hebrew name Edre, meaning 'flock' or 'cloud', or have connections to Greek or Welsh roots. In Welsh contexts, it…

Edla

Edla is a feminine name with Germanic and Scandinavian origins. The name likely derives from the Old Germanic elements meaning 'noble' or 'precious.' In Norse history, Edla was the name of a…

Ezra

Hebrew

"help"

Ezra is a biblical favorite for boys that's been making inroads into the girls' Top 1000 since 2018 and it's easy to see why. With its soft sounds and -a ending, it holds the same appeal as Noa,…

Erla

Erla is a feminine name with primarily Norse and Icelandic origins, derived from the Old Norse 'Erla' meaning 'noble woman' or possibly connected to 'jarl' meaning 'earl' or 'nobleman.' In Icelandic…

Erna

Irish

"to know"

That er sound -- as in Myrna, Myrtle, and Bernice -- sounds terminally dated.

Elna

Scandinavian diminutive of Helena or Elena, Greek

"shining light; torch"

A short, succinct short form of the classic Helen and Helena along with the international variant, Elena, Elna was a popular choice in the 19th and early 20th century in the US, but has since fallen…

Era

Word name

Name that enjoyed some popularity early in the 20th century but now is locked in another, ahem, era.

Esta

Esta is a feminine name with diverse origins. It can be seen as a variant of Esther, which has Persian roots meaning 'star' or derives from the goddess Ishtar. In some contexts, Esta functions as a…

Eula

Diminutive of Eulalia

Eula is a slightly sweeter and more compact version of Eulalia. Currently, neither name is given to more than a handful of girls each year. Eula was fairly popular in the US during the early…

Etta

English and Scottish, short form of any name ending with -etta: Henrietta, Loretta etc.

Thanks to the surprise hit revival of Etta James' song At Last and because of recent interest in vintage style nicknames, Etta has established herself as a possible successor to Emma and Ella. While…

Elsa

German diminutive of Elisabeth

"pledged to God"

Lost in limbo for decades and decades, Elsa now stands a good chance of following along in the progression from Emma to Ella to Etta, thanks to the ice queen heroine who "Let It Go" in the wildly…

Eartha

English

"earth"

Used by the Puritans but off the US charts completely since the mid-1990s, Eartha is best known today as the name of American singer Eartha Kitt, as well as of the philanthropist and humanitarian…

Exa

Spelling variation of Achsah, Hebrew

"adorned"

In the 21st century, Exa is best known as the given name of Grimes and Elon Musk's daughter Y, a sibling for X Æ A-XII. The celebrity parents were inspired by the supercomputer terms exaFLOPS, which…

Edna

Hebrew

"rejuvenation, delight"

Edna is one of those names that, until what it seemed like a few minutes ago, felt so terminally frumpy that no one could imagine a parent choosing it for an innocent modern baby girl. But with the…

Elda

Italian variation of Hilda

While we still can't see Hilda coming back any time soon, it's conceivable that this Italian version could ride the coattails of Ella, Elena and Ellery to broader popularity.

Erma

English variation of Irma, English, German, Slovene

"whole, great, universal; army man"

A variation of the German Irma, Erma emerged in the 19th century in English-speaking countries where its similarity to timeless Emma might have helped it gain popularity. In fact, if you follow its…

Essa

Essa is a feminine name with multiple cultural origins. In Arabic, it's a variation of Isa (the Arabic form of Jesus) and means 'God is salvation.' In Irish contexts, Essa derives from the Gaelic…