Head to head · Girls' names
Emma vs Evelyn
#3 vs #8 in 2025
Emma is a whisker ahead (#3 vs #8 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Emma is stepping back from its peak, Evelyn is holding its place on the charts. On momentum, Evelyn has the edge.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Emma leads 4 measures of 6; Evelyn leads 1.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Emma #3, Evelyn #134 — Emma higher
- 1890s: Emma #9, Evelyn #94 — Emma higher
- 1900s: Emma #24, Evelyn #43 — Emma higher
- 1910s: Emma #40, Evelyn #12 — Evelyn higher
- 1920s: Emma #57, Evelyn #14 — Evelyn higher
- 1930s: Emma #83, Evelyn #30 — Evelyn higher
- 1940s: Emma #121, Evelyn #61 — Evelyn higher
- 1950s: Emma #212, Evelyn #109 — Evelyn higher
- 1960s: Emma #359, Evelyn #170 — Evelyn higher
- 1970s: Emma #433, Evelyn #264 — Evelyn higher
- 1980s: Emma #293, Evelyn #238 — Evelyn higher
- 1990s: Emma #71, Evelyn #197 — Emma higher
- 2000s: Emma #5, Evelyn #83 — Emma higher
- 2010s: Emma #2, Evelyn #18 — Emma higher
- 2020s: Emma #2, Evelyn #9 — Emma higher
Evelyn stood higher in 8 of 15 decades; Emma has held the lead since the 1990s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Emma | Evelyn |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #3 | #134 |
| 1890s | #9 | #94 |
| 1900s | #24 | #43 |
| 1910s | #40 | #12 |
| 1920s | #57 | #14 |
| 1930s | #83 | #30 |
| 1940s | #121 | #61 |
| 1950s | #212 | #109 |
| 1960s | #359 | #170 |
| 1970s | #433 | #264 |
| 1980s | #293 | #238 |
| 1990s | #71 | #197 |
| 2000s | #5 | #83 |
| 2010s | #2 | #18 |
| 2020s | #2 | #9 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Emma
- Canada#3
- France#7
- England & Wales#69
- Scotland#94
Evelyn
- Canada#15
- England & Wales#20
- Scotland#86
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Emma
whole, universal
Emma began as a short form of longer Germanic names built on the element ermin or irmin, meaning whole or universal — names like Ermengard and Irmingard. The short form outlived nearly all of them.
Irmin- (Germanic name element) → Ermengard / Irmingard → Emma
How it traveled
The name is Germanic, born as a pet form of the long Ermin- and Irmin- compounds used in medieval Frankish and German families. It reached England through Emma of Normandy, who was queen twice over in the eleventh century — first as wife of Æthelred, then of Cnut — and the name settled into English use behind her.
Evelyn
Not established
The trail is clear until its very last step, and then it stops. Evelyn comes from the English surname Evelyn, which comes from the medieval feminine name Aveline, a Norman French pet form of the Germanic name Ava. What the Germanic element avi- actually meant is not established. Later readers have tied Evelyn to Latin avis, 'bird', or to Eve, 'life', by sound rather than descent; neither is the real line.
Ava → Aveline → Evelyn (English surname) → Evelyn
How it traveled
The Normans brought Aveline to England in the eleventh century, where it stayed in use through the Middle Ages and then hardened into a family surname. Surnames were fashionable as first names among English gentry from the seventeenth century onward, and Evelyn came back into circulation that way — used for sons as well as daughters in Britain, since a surname carries no gender of its own.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Emma
EM-uh
Said the same way in English, French and German, with only a slight difference in how the final vowel is colored. Practically nobody mispronounces it.
- Em — The oldest and plainest short form, used informally in English for centuries.
- Emmy — Informal; also given as a name in its own right, and shared as a nickname with Emily and Emmeline.
- Emmie — A spelling variant of Emmy, more often written than spoken.
- Ems — Casual and modern, mostly used between friends rather than by family.
Evelyn
EV-uh-lin
EV-uh-lin is standard in the United States. In Britain you will also hear EEV-lin, in two syllables, especially from older speakers and in the surname. Both are correct for the same spelling, so it is worth deciding which one your family uses.
- Evie — The most widely used short form, informal, and a given name in its own right in Britain and Ireland.
- Eve — Informal short form; also stands alone as an independent name with its own long history.
- Ev — Clipped and informal, more often heard among older bearers.
- Lynn — Taken from the ending rather than the start; also a standalone given name, common in mid-century American records.
- Also Evy.
Who has carried each name
Emma
Emma Stone (b. 1988) — Two-time Oscar winner (La La Land, Poor Things)
Emma Watson (b. 1990) — Harry Potter's Hermione and a UN Women advocate
Emma Thompson (b. 1959) — The only person with Oscars for both acting and screenwriting
Evelyn
Evelyn Beatrice Hall (b. 1868) — Coined "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
Evelyn Glennie (b. 1965) — Grammy-winning percussionist who has been profoundly deaf since age 12
Evelyn Ashford (b. 1957) — Sprinter with four Olympic gold medals
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Emma if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesEmma is 2 syllables to Evelyn's 3
- a name that charts abroad tooEmma is on the national lists of Canada, France, England & Wales and Scotland
Choose Evelyn if you want…
- a name with more sound in itEvelyn runs 3 syllables, Emma 2
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Emma
Strengths
- A spelling everyone already knows — no repeating it over the phone, no correcting it on forms.
- Works unchanged in French, German and Italian, and currently charts in Canada, France, England & Wales and Scotland.
- A documented record in England going back to the eleventh century, so it reads as old rather than of-the-moment.
To consider
- It is one of the most-used girls' names in the country, so an Emma is likely to share her name at some point in school or in a workplace.
- The bulk of Emmas alive today are young adults, which for now gives the name a distinct generational feel — though the medieval and Victorian layers sit underneath it.
- Emmy is shared territory with Emily, Emmeline and Emerson, and the two are sometimes confused in speech.
Evelyn
Strengths
- Short forms already in real use — Evie, Eve, Lynn — so a child has options without anyone inventing them.
- A spelling most English speakers write correctly on the first try, despite the unstressed middle syllable.
- Recorded continuously since national birth statistics began, and current in classrooms now: familiar to every generation alive.
To consider
- It is one of the most-used girls' names in the English-speaking world right now, so a shared name in the same class or friend group is a real possibility.
- Two pronunciations circulate — EV-uh-lin and EEV-lin — and the second is common enough in Britain that she may occasionally be asked which she prefers.
- Evelyn sits close to Evie, Eve, Ava, Eva and Evelina in sound, several of which are also popular; expect the odd mix-up.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Emma and Evelyn in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Emma and Evelyn?
Put both to the vote.
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
- Transatlantic hits: loved on both sides of the ocean
- America's top 100 names right now
- Vowel names: soft starts from A to O
- Greatest Generation names (born 1901–1927)
- all guides
Every list here names both Emma and Evelyn — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Emma or Evelyn — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Emma or Evelyn?
- Emma, in 2025: Emma ranked #3 with 12,754 babies; Evelyn ranked #8 with 9,123 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Emma or Evelyn?
- Evelyn. Over the last five years Emma moved down 1 place; Evelyn moved up 1 place.
- Which is the older name, Emma or Evelyn?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Emma and Evelyn?
- About 573,000 people named Emma are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 321,000 people named Evelyn are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Emmas or Evelyns in the classroom?
- Roughly 1 in 5 classrooms will have a child named Emma. Roughly 1 in 7 classrooms will have a child named Evelyn.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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