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SHARED SPELLING

✦ Two distinct US naming histories

Emma

Used in both girl and boy records

Emma appears in both girl and boy US naming records. Compare the two independent popularity histories, ranks, and peak years.

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Emma by gender

Each record below preserves the original rank, use count, active years, and peak year for that gender. The spelling is shared; the data histories are not combined.

GIRL RECORDEmma as a girl’s nameUS records 1880–2024
#33girl rank2003peak year
Read girl record ↗BOY RECORDEmma as a boy’s nameUS records 1880–2024
#3168boy rank2004peak year
Read boy record ↗

Popularity ledger

Girl and boy use over time

GirlBoy

Trace the annual recorded uses of Emma in the national name files. Hover a peak marker, move across the chart, or use the arrow keys to inspect an exact annual count and rank.

At a glance

RecordPeak yearHighest rankObserved usage
Girl200322,709 uses#120081880–2020141 listed years
Boy2004102 uses#45818901880–2020117 listed years

Annual counts and within-year ranks from the SSA national-name archive, 1880–2020. Names with fewer than five births in a year are not listed in the source files.

Origin of the spelling

Origin & meaning

OriginGermanic root used across European languages
MeaningFrom the Germanic element irmin, commonly interpreted as “whole” or “great.”

Emma began as a short form for Germanic names containing the element irmin. Its historical use in England is closely associated with Emma of Normandy, and it later appeared in English literary tradition.

The name was common in England after the Norman Conquest, then experienced a renewed rise in several countries from the late 20th century.

Related forms

EmaIrmaEmmy

Reviewed 2026-08-15 · Sources