Eufemia
Feminine · “well-spoken”
Eufemia is the Spanish and Italian form of a Greek name meaning good speech, and the word it is built on gave English the term for saying a dangerous thing politely. The Greeks used the device seriously, and on things they were genuinely frightened of.
How old is the name Eufemia?
Eufemia first appears in US birth records in 1902 — 123 years ago. The typical Eufemia alive today was born around 1935, making them about 90 years old. About 300 people named Eufemia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Eufemia most popular?
Eufemia peaked in 1907, reaching #1289 nationally. See the whole 1907 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Euphemia to Eufemia
The story of Eufemia
A euphemism is literally good speech, and for the Greeks that was not a matter of politeness but of safety. The avenging spirits were called the Eumenides, the Kindly Ones, on the explicit reasoning that naming them accurately might attract their attention. The Black Sea, which is stormy and was dangerous to early sailors, was called Euxeinos, the hospitable one — and there is a good case that an earlier name meaning the inhospitable one was deliberately reversed. Worshippers were told to keep euphemia during a sacrifice, which in practice meant holding their tongues entirely, because the safest good speech is silence. The modern word has kept the shape and lost the fear: an English speaker reaching for a euphemism is protecting a listener's feelings rather than warding anything off.
Meaning
well-spoken; of good repute
A Greek compound joining the word for good to the word for speech or reputation. The same compound gives English euphemism. Spanish writes the Greek ph as an f and treats the eu as two syllables, both of which are regular in Spanish and neither of which is English practice.
How the name formed
- Euphemia
- Eufemia
Related forms: Eufemia · Eufémia · Euphemia · Eufemia
Pronouncing Eufemia
eh-oo-FEH-mee-ah
Five syllables in Spanish, with the eu split in two and the stress on the third. English collapses the eu into a single yoo and gets four.
Nicknames for Eufemia
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
- 1902
- Most girls named
- 192526 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1289reached in 1907
- Change vs 1992
- 0.0%6 in 2018, from 6
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.
Eufemia in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Eufemia in Italian — same name
- Eufémia in Portuguese — same name
- Euphemia in English — same name
- Eufemia in Polish — same name
Eufemias among us
people named Eufemia are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Eufemia sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- The meaning is documented, positive and easy to state.
- Effie and Femi come from opposite ends and sound nothing alike.
- It is a real name in Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Polish alike.
- The syllable count differs between English and Spanish, so the name is said two ways.
- Euphemia and Eufemia are both recorded and the spelling will need giving.
- Five syllables is long for forms designed around shorter names.
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Eufemia
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Eufemias are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 300 people named Eufemia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Eufemia in 2025?
- Eufemia is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Eufemia with classmates?
- Eufemia will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More E names
The most-given names starting with E, all years combined.
Elizabeth#17 · Emily#34 · Emma#3 · Evelyn#8 · Ella#29 · Eleanor#12 · Erin#833 · Edna#2458
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Eufemia? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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