Emma (given name)

Emma is a feminine given name. It is derived from the Germanic word ermen, meaning "whole" or "universal". It likely originated as a short form of names such as Ermengarde or Ermentrude. Its earliest use begins at least from the early seventh century, with Frankish royal daughter Emma of Austrasia and the wife of Eadbald of Kent found in written sources. Its popularity in the medieval era increased because it was the name of Emma of Normandy, mother of Edward the Confessor. Emmeline is a Norman variant of Emma that was introduced to England by the Norman invaders in the 11th century. The name is etymologically unrelated to Amalia, Amelia, Emilia, and Emily, all of which are derived from other sources, but all of these names have been associated with each other due to their similarity in appearance and sound. Emma has been used as a short form of some of these names or shares diminutives such as Em or Emmy with them.

Popularity
It became popular in the United States late in the 20th century, reaching the top 100 names for girls in the late 1990s. It has been among the top five names given to girls since 2002, and was the most popular name for girls in 2008 and from 2014 to 2018.

In England and Wales it was number 14 in 1996 but has dropped in popularity since (number 61 in 2021).

Notable people

 * Emma, Lady Hamilton (1765–1815), English artist's model and performer
 * Emma, Lady Radford (died 1937), English antiquarian and public servant
 * Emma of Anjou (c. 1140 – c. 1214), Welsh royalty and half-sister of King Henry II of England
 * Emma of Austrasia (fl. early seventy century), Frankish royalty
 * Emma of Blois (c. 950–1003), Duchess consort of Aquitaine
 * Emma of France (died 935), Queen of Western Francia and military leader
 * Emma of Hawaii (1836–1885), queen to King Kamehameha IV from 1856 to his death in 1863
 * Emma of Italy (fl. 948-987), Queen of Western Francia
 * Emma of Lesum (c. 975–1038), saint and first female inhabitant of Bremen to be known by name
 * Emma of Mělník (b. before 950, d. 1005/1006), wife of Boleslav II of Bohemia and Bohemian duchess
 * Queen Emma of the Netherlands (1858–1934), Queen of the Netherlands and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg
 * Emma of Normandy (c. 985–1052), twice Queen consort of the Kingdom of England
 * Emma of Paris (943–968)
 * Emma Adbåge (born 1982), Swedish illustrator and children's writer
 * Emma Adler (1858–1935), Austrian journalist and writer
 * Emma Ahuena Taylor (1867–1937), part-Native Hawaiian high chiefess
 * Emma Albani (1847–1930), Canadian operatic soprano
 * Emma Anderson (born 1967), English musician
 * Emma Anderson (professor), Canadian professor
 * Emma Andersson (born 1979), Swedish television personality and singer
 * Emma Andijewska (born 1931), modern Ukrainian poet, writer and painter
 * Emma Ania (born 1980), former track and field sprint athlete
 * Emma Ankudey (born 1943), Ghanaian former amateur boxer
 * Emma Anzai, bassist of Australian band Sick Puppies
 * Emma B. Alrich (1845–1925), American journalist, author, educator
 * Emma Appleton (born 1991), English actress and model
 * Emma Asp (born 1987), Swedish footballer defender
 * Emma Asson (1889–1965), Estonian politician
 * Emma Atkins (born 1975), English actress
 * Emma Whitcomb Babcock (1849–1926), American litterateur, author
 * Emma Baeri (born 1942), Sicilian feminist historian and essayist
 * Emma Bailey (1910–1999), American auctioneer and author
 * Emma Baker (journalist), television journalist and presenter employed by ITV Channel
 * Emma Bale (born 1999), Belgian singer
 * Emma Dunning Banks (1856-1931), American actress, dramatic reader, teacher, and writer
 * Emma Bardac (1862–1934), French singer
 * Emma Barnett (born 1985), British broadcaster and journalist
 * Emma Baron (1904–1986), Italian stage and film actress
 * Emma Barrandeguy (1914–2006), Argentine writer, journalist, poet, storyteller and playwright
 * Emma Barrie (born 2002), Scottish netball player
 * Emma Barton (born 1977), English actress
 * Emma Bartoniek (1894–1957), Hungarian historian and bibliographer
 * Emma Bates (born 1992), runner
 * Emma Pow Bauder (1848-1932), American evangelist and author
 * Emma Beckett (footballer) (born 1987), Irish football midfielder
 * Emma Bell (born 1986), American actress
 * Emma Lee Benedict (1857-1937), American editor, educator, author
 * Emma Bengtsson, Swedish chef
 * Emma Bonino (born 1948), Italian politician and human rights activist
 * Emma Scarr Booth (1835–1927), British-born American novelist, poet
 * Emma Bourne (1846-1924), American temperance activist and social reformer
 * Emma Eliza Bower (1852–1937), American physician, club-woman, and newspaper owner, publisher, editor
 * Emma Southwick Brinton (1834–1922), American Civil War nurse, traveller, correspondent
 * Emma Elizabeth Brown (1847–?), American writer, artist
 * Emma Alice Browne (1835-1890), American poet
 * Emma Bull (born 1954), American science fiction and fantasy author
 * Emma Bunton (born 1976), English singer, the Spice Girls
 * Emma Mieko Candon, American novelist
 * Emma Cannon (born 1989), American basketball player for the Israeli team Elitzur Ramla
 * Emma Chamberlain (born 2001), American internet personality
 * Emma Checker (born 1996), Australian footballer
 * Emma Churchill (1862–1957), founder of The Salvation Army in Newfoundland
 * Emma Shaw Colcleugh (1846–1940), American journalist, lecturer, traveler, collector
 * Emma Constable (born 1975), English badminton player
 * Emma Corrin (born 1995), English actress
 * Emma Amelia Cranmer (1858–1937), American reformer, suffragist, writer
 * Emma G. Cummings (1856–1940), American horticulturalist and ornithologist
 * Emma D'Arcy (born 1992), English actor
 * Emma Darwin (1808–1896), wife of Charles Darwin
 * Emma de Cartosio (1928–2013), Argentine writer
 * Emma de la Barra (1861-1947), Argentine writer
 * Emma Beard Delaney (1871–1922), Baptist missionary and teacher
 * Emma Didlake (1905–2015), oldest U.S. veteran
 * Emma Doran (fl. 2010's), Irish comedian and podcaster
 * Emma Dumont (born 1994), American actress and model
 * Emma Bedelia Dunham (1826–1910), American poet, teacher
 * Emma Ellingsen (born 2001), Norwegian model
 * Emma Catherine Embury (1806–1863), American author, poet
 * Emma Engdahl-Jägerskiöld (1852–1930), Finnish opera singer
 * Emma Pike Ewing (1838–1917), American educator, author
 * Emma Ferguson (born 1975), English actress, Mile High
 * Emma B. Freeman (1880–1928), American photographer
 * Emma Sheridan Fry (1864–1936), American actress, playwright, teacher
 * Emma Fürstenhoff (1802–1871), Swedish florist
 * Emma Sophia Galton (1811–1904), British finance guide author
 * Emma Gatewood (1887–1973), American hiker
 * Emma George (born 1974), Australian pole vaulter
 * Emma Gilchrist, Canadian journalist
 * Emma Goldman (1869–1940), Lithuania-born anarchist, writer and orator
 * X González (born 1999), born Emma, American activist and advocate for gun control
 * Emma Graf (1865–1926), Swiss historian, teacher, suffragist
 * Emma Grant (footballer) (born 1989), Australian footballer
 * Emma Green (athlete) (born 1984), Swedish athlete
 * Emma Green (nurse) (1843–1929), 19th century southern belle
 * Emma Jane Greenland (1760–1843), English painter, writer, singer
 * Emma Azalia Hackley (1867–1922), African-American singer and political activist
 * Emma Stark Hampton (1843-1925), American organizational leader
 * Emma Heming (born 1978), English actress
 * Emma Churchman Hewitt (1850–1921), American writer, journalist
 * Emma Hippolyte, Saint Lucian politician
 * Emma Hope (born 1962), British shoe designer
 * Emma Hult (born 1988), Swedish politician
 * Emma Hwang (born 1971), Taiwanese-American scientist and aquanaut
 * Emma Jung (1882–1955), Swiss psychologist and writer
 * Emma Kickapoo (1880-1942), artists' model
 * Emma Kirchner (1830–1909) German photographer who lived and worked in the Netherlands.
 * Emma Kok (born 2008), Dutch singer
 * Emma Lahana (born 1984), New Zealand actress and singer
 * Emma Lai (born 1988), Hong Kong cricketer
 * Emma Laine (born 1986), Finnish tennis player
 * Emma Laird, British actress
 * Emma Lazarus (1849–1887), American poet
 * Emma Augusta Lehman (1841–1922), American teacher, poet, naturalist and botanical collector
 * Emma Logan, known as October (born 1997), New Zealand singer and model
 * Emma Mackey (born 1996), French-British actress
 * Emma Mäkelin (1874–1962), Finnish midwife and politician
 * Emma Malabuyo (born 2002), American gymnast
 * Emma Malewski (born 2004), German gymnast
 * Emma B. Mandl (1842–1928), Bohemian-born American social reformer, clubwoman, and community leader
 * Emma Marrone (born 1984), Italian pop singer
 * Emma Mason (born 1986), Scottish badminton player
 * Emma Masterson (born 1977), Thai actress, model, and television presenter
 * Emma Camp Mead (1866-1934), hotelkeeper and herbalist
 * Emma Meesseman (born 1993), Belgian basketball player
 * Emma Miyazawa (born 1988), Japanese actress
 * Emma Barrett Molloy (1839–1907), American journalist, lecturer, and activist
 * Emma Myers (born 2002), American actress
 * Emma Huntington Nason (1845–1921), American poet, author, and musical composer
 * Emma Neale (born 1969), New Zealand novelist and poet
 * Emma Aline Osgood (1849–1911), American soprano
 * Emma Pérez Ferreira (1925–2005), Argentine physicist
 * Emma Raducanu (born 2002), British tennis player
 * Emma May Alexander Reinertsen (1853–1920), American writer, social reformer
 * Emma Reyes (1919–2003), Colombian painter and writer
 * Emma Ann Reynolds (1862–1917), African-American teacher
 * Emma Richter (1888–1956), German paleontologist
 * Emma Rigby (born 1989), English actress
 * Emma Roberts, British aristocrat
 * Emma Roberts (born 1991), American actress and singer
 * Emma Rochlin (born 1978), Scottish field hockey player
 * Emma Winner Rogers (1855-1922), American writer, speaker, suffragist
 * Emma Ruth Rundle (born 1983), American musician
 * Emma Sachse (1887–1965), German activist for feminist and other political causes
 * Emma Salokoski (born 1976), Finnish singer-songwriter
 * Emma Samms (born 1960), English actress
 * Emma Sandys (1842–1877), English painter
 * Emma Shapplin (born 1974), French soprano
 * Emma Augusta Sharkey (1858–1902), American writer, journalist, dime novelist, story-teller
 * Emma L. Shaw (1840–1924), American magazine editor
 * Emma Sinclair, British businesswoman
 * Emma Slater (born 1988), British ballroom dancer
 * Emma Snowsill (born 1981), Australian triathlete
 * Emma Solá de Solá (1894–1984), Argentine writer and poet
 * Emma Stone (born Emily Jean Stone in 1988), American actress
 * Emma Sulkowicz (born 1992), American performance artist and activist
 * Emma Swift (born 1981), Australian singer-songwriter
 * Emma Taylor-Isherwood (born 1987), Canadian actress, Angel in Kuu Kuu Harajuku
 * Emma Tennant (1937–2017), British novelist
 * Emma Thompson (born 1959), British actress, comedian and screenwriter
 * Emma Tiglao (born 1994), Filipino actress, news anchor, model and beauty pageant titleholder
 * Emma Thynn, Viscountess Weymouth (born 1986), English socialite
 * Emma Rood Tuttle (1839-1916), American writer, poet
 * Emma Wallrup (born 1971), Swedish politician
 * Emma Watkins (born 1989), Australian children's entertainer, The Wiggles
 * Emma Watson (born 1990), British actress
 * Emma Willard (1787–1870), women's education rights activist
 * Emma Willis (born 1976), British TV presenter and former model, presenter of Big Brother
 * Emma Willis (gymnast) (born 1992), Canadian artistic gymnast
 * Emma Woikin (1920–1974), Canadian spy for the Soviet Union
 * Emma Wolf (1865–1932), American litterateur and novelist
 * Emma Yong (1975–2012), Singaporean actress and singer
 * Emma Zimmer (1888–1948), overseer at the Ravensbrück concentration camp executed for war crimes
 * Emma Zimmer (1888–1948), overseer at the Ravensbrück concentration camp executed for war crimes

Characters

 * Emma in "Henry and Emma", a 1709 poem by Matthew Prior, which has been credited for first popularising the name.
 * Emma, the main character in Emma: A Victorian Romance
 * Emma (The Promised Neverland), a main character in The Promised Neverland
 * Emma Brooker, a character from the British soap opera Coronation Street
 * Emma Carstairs, a character and protagonist in Cassandra Clare's The Shadowhunter Chronicles and heroine in The Dark Artifices
 * Emma Frost in Marvel Comics
 * Emma Geller-Green, daughter of Rachel Green and Ross Geller on Friends
 * Emma Keane (Ackley Bridge), a teacher on Ackley Bridge
 * Emma Nelson, the staple character in Degrassi: The Next Generation
 * Emma Paley, a character in the comic series Peter Parker
 * Emma Peel, fictional television spy played by Diana Rigg in the British 1960s adventure series The Avengers
 * Emma Pillsbury in Glee
 * Emma Reid in Doctors
 * Emma Sheen, Gundam pilot from the AEUG group in the anime series Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
 * Emma Swan, protagonist of the television series Once Upon a Time
 * Emma Verde, a character in the media project Nijigasaki High School Idol Club
 * Emma Woodhouse, the title character of Jane Austen's Emma
 * "Emma Zunz" in the eponymous short story by Jorge Luis Borges
 * Emma Ross, one of the main characters from the Disney Channel series, Jessie and Bunk'd.
 * Emma Dobbs, a one-time mentioned character from Harry Potter