Emmerson
Masculine · “son of Emery”
Emmerson is given to both — 613 boys and 2,480 girls since 1880. See Emmerson as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Emmerson doubles the m of Emerson, and the Emery behind it joins a Germanic word for labor to one for a ruler.
How old is the name Emmerson?
Emmerson first appears in US birth records in 1915 — 110 years ago. The typical Emmerson is a kid of about 11 — this name's wave is very recent. About 500 people named Emmerson are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Emmerson most popular?
Emmerson peaked in 1929, reaching #2002 nationally. Today it ranks #4396, 2,394 places below that high. See the whole 1929 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Emmerson
Ours, offered as ours. Amal, the Germanic word for work, gave its name to a dynasty: the Amals were the royal house of the Ostrogoths, Theodoric among them, and a great many names in Amal- descend from that family's prestige — Amalric, Amalasuintha, Amelia, Emery. So a word for labor became a royal marker, which is not the usual direction. Emmerson is a patronymic on the far end of that.
Meaning
son of Emery
From Germanic amal, work or labor, and ric, a ruler, giving Emmerich and English Emery; the -son ending records the patronymic. The abrasive emery is a separate word from a Greek place name.
Pronouncing Emmerson
EM-er-sun
Three syllables, first stressed. Emmerson and Emerson are said identically.
Nicknames for Emmerson
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1915
- Most boys named
- 201430 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2002reached in 1929
- Change vs 2024
- −23.3%23 in 2025, from 30
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Emmerson in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Emerson in English — spelling variant
- Emmerich in German — related form
- Imre in Hungarian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Indiana, California.
Emmersons among us
people named Emmerson are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 74,264 born in 2025 was named Emmerson
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Emmerson
- #4396
- Emmerson on the 2025 chart
- #250
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Emmerson went to 23 boys in 2025, but Emerson is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 1,394, which makes it the 250th most-given boys’ name of the year — 4,146 places above the chart.
- Emerson1,371
- Emmerson23
About 1 boy in 1,225 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 74,264 for Emmerson itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Emmerson sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Emmerson beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Emmerson in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled Germanic meaning with both elements clearly attested.
- Em is a plain short form that works from childhood on.
- Read correctly on sight by every English speaker.
- Emerson is the standard spelling and will be written for him constantly.
- It is now given to girls in comparable numbers, so assumptions vary.
- The doubled m adds a letter without changing the sound.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Emmerson to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Emmerson? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Emmerson
Masculine · #4396 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Emmersons are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Emmerson are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Emmerson?
- Emmerson is one of 2 recorded spellings. Emerson is the more common one — 1,371 births in 2025 against 23 for Emmerson.
- How popular is the name Emmerson in 2025?
- Emmerson ranks #4396 among US boy names in 2025, with 23 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Emmerson?
- About 1 in every 74,264 US boys born in 2025 was named Emmerson — 23 in all.
- Will my child share the name Emmerson with classmates?
- Emmerson will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Emmerson
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Odell#4396 · Corwin#4396 · Tennyson#4396 · Marques#4396 · Manu#4396 · Omid#4396 · Zackariah#4396 · Burton#4396
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Emmerson? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Emmerson and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle