Ema
Ema was given to 164 girls in 2025, #1,349 among girls’ names; 4,857 Americans have been recorded with it since 1883 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 4,160 Americans named Ema and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (86% of everyone recorded); the median is 15 years old and half are between 8 and 23.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Ema by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Ema mean?
Wiktionary, Portuguese section
Ema is “a female given name, equivalent to English Emma”
/ˈẽ.mɐ/
Meaning: Wiktionary, Portuguese section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Ema?
#1,349 among girls’ names, 2025
Ema rose from #1,472 in 2015 to #1,349 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 0.09 to 0.10 per 1,000.
164 babies in 2025, the peak
Ema peaked in 2025, when 164 girls were given it, #1,349 among girls’ names. In 2024 it went to 136 girls.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 164 | #1,349 | 0.10 |
| 2024 | 136 | #1,561 | 0.08 |
| 2023 | 156 | #1,431 | 0.10 |
| 2022 | 144 | #1,510 | 0.09 |
| 2021 | 106 | #1,877 | 0.06 |
| 2020 | 141 | #1,513 | 0.09 |
| 2019 | 150 | #1,468 | 0.09 |
| 2018 | 124 | #1,678 | 0.07 |
| 2017 | 130 | #1,657 | 0.08 |
| 2016 | 151 | #1,506 | 0.09 |
Every recorded year (129)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 156 | #1,472 | 0.09 |
| 2014 | 145 | #1,515 | 0.08 |
| 2013 | 137 | #1,571 | 0.08 |
| 2012 | 136 | #1,594 | 0.08 |
| 2011 | 161 | #1,417 | 0.09 |
| 2010 | 134 | #1,615 | 0.08 |
| 2009 | 148 | #1,532 | 0.08 |
| 2008 | 153 | #1,522 | 0.08 |
| 2007 | 136 | #1,639 | 0.07 |
| 2006 | 152 | #1,463 | 0.08 |
| 2005 | 133 | #1,539 | 0.07 |
| 2004 | 134 | #1,500 | 0.07 |
| 2003 | 125 | #1,544 | 0.07 |
| 2002 | 81 | #2,100 | 0.05 |
| 2001 | 58 | #2,606 | 0.03 |
| 2000 | 50 | #2,869 | 0.03 |
| 1999 | 44 | #3,006 | 0.02 |
| 1998 | 47 | #2,805 | 0.03 |
| 1997 | 29 | #3,840 | 0.02 |
| 1996 | 28 | #3,864 | 0.02 |
| 1995 | 36 | #3,163 | 0.02 |
| 1994 | 38 | #3,045 | 0.02 |
| 1993 | 24 | #4,291 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 20 | #4,903 | 0.01 |
| 1991 | 18 | #5,238 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 17 | #5,356 | 0.01 |
| 1989 | 16 | #5,360 | 0.01 |
| 1988 | 23 | #3,926 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 9 | #7,542 | 0.01 |
| 1986 | 13 | #5,529 | 0.01 |
| 1985 | 18 | #4,319 | 0.01 |
| 1984 | 13 | #5,296 | 0.01 |
| 1983 | 15 | #4,733 | 0.01 |
| 1982 | 15 | #4,772 | 0.01 |
| 1981 | 15 | #4,793 | 0.01 |
| 1980 | 11 | #6,030 | 0.01 |
| 1979 | 17 | #4,280 | 0.01 |
| 1978 | 10 | #6,072 | 0.01 |
| 1977 | 7 | #7,765 | under 0.01 |
| 1976 | 15 | #4,207 | 0.01 |
| 1975 | 19 | #3,540 | 0.01 |
| 1974 | 16 | #3,903 | 0.01 |
| 1973 | 11 | #4,972 | 0.01 |
| 1972 | 11 | #4,876 | 0.01 |
| 1970 | 8 | #5,965 | under 0.01 |
| 1969 | 8 | #5,588 | under 0.01 |
| 1968 | 6 | #6,466 | under 0.01 |
| 1967 | 5 | #7,083 | under 0.01 |
| 1965 | 5 | #6,810 | under 0.01 |
| 1964 | 10 | #4,437 | 0.01 |
| 1963 | 6 | #6,069 | under 0.01 |
| 1961 | 9 | #4,643 | under 0.01 |
| 1960 | 6 | #5,898 | under 0.01 |
| 1959 | 6 | #5,756 | under 0.01 |
| 1958 | 7 | #5,046 | under 0.01 |
| 1957 | 5 | #6,345 | under 0.01 |
| 1956 | 6 | #5,484 | under 0.01 |
| 1955 | 6 | #5,380 | under 0.01 |
| 1954 | 7 | #4,803 | under 0.01 |
| 1953 | 13 | #3,163 | 0.01 |
| 1952 | 5 | #5,806 | under 0.01 |
| 1951 | 7 | #4,501 | under 0.01 |
| 1950 | 12 | #3,110 | 0.01 |
| 1949 | 9 | #3,698 | 0.01 |
| 1948 | 7 | #4,314 | under 0.01 |
| 1947 | 9 | #3,798 | 0.01 |
| 1946 | 16 | #2,418 | 0.01 |
| 1945 | 8 | #3,467 | 0.01 |
| 1944 | 8 | #3,472 | 0.01 |
| 1943 | 7 | #3,918 | 0.01 |
| 1942 | 11 | #2,872 | 0.01 |
| 1941 | 8 | #3,339 | 0.01 |
| 1940 | 10 | #2,797 | 0.01 |
| 1939 | 11 | #2,636 | 0.01 |
| 1938 | 10 | #2,788 | 0.01 |
| 1937 | 13 | #2,354 | 0.01 |
| 1936 | 9 | #2,933 | 0.01 |
| 1935 | 15 | #2,129 | 0.01 |
| 1934 | 20 | #1,722 | 0.02 |
| 1933 | 18 | #1,853 | 0.02 |
| 1932 | 19 | #1,833 | 0.02 |
| 1931 | 24 | #1,564 | 0.02 |
| 1930 | 22 | #1,719 | 0.02 |
| 1929 | 25 | #1,568 | 0.02 |
| 1928 | 28 | #1,513 | 0.02 |
| 1927 | 28 | #1,564 | 0.02 |
| 1926 | 21 | #1,891 | 0.02 |
| 1925 | 18 | #2,134 | 0.01 |
| 1924 | 16 | #2,340 | 0.01 |
| 1923 | 30 | #1,498 | 0.02 |
| 1922 | 31 | #1,477 | 0.03 |
| 1921 | 11 | #2,996 | 0.01 |
| 1920 | 21 | #1,903 | 0.02 |
| 1919 | 18 | #2,009 | 0.02 |
| 1918 | 12 | #2,720 | 0.01 |
| 1917 | 14 | #2,352 | 0.01 |
| 1916 | 17 | #1,973 | 0.02 |
| 1915 | 22 | #1,587 | 0.02 |
| 1914 | 14 | #1,839 | 0.02 |
| 1913 | 7 | #2,619 | 0.01 |
| 1912 | 7 | #2,456 | 0.01 |
| 1911 | 6 | #2,277 | 0.01 |
| 1910 | 10 | #1,555 | 0.03 |
| 1909 | 6 | #2,036 | 0.02 |
| 1904 | 9 | #1,294 | 0.03 |
| 1903 | 5 | #1,876 | 0.02 |
| 1902 | 9 | #1,246 | 0.03 |
| 1900 | 5 | #2,018 | 0.02 |
| 1899 | 6 | #1,465 | 0.03 |
| 1898 | 7 | #1,413 | 0.03 |
| 1897 | 8 | #1,194 | 0.03 |
| 1896 | 6 | #1,466 | 0.03 |
| 1895 | 9 | #1,153 | 0.04 |
| 1890 | 7 | #1,130 | 0.04 |
| 1889 | 8 | #970 | 0.04 |
| 1887 | 10 | #747 | 0.07 |
| 1885 | 5 | #1,090 | 0.04 |
| 1884 | 6 | #959 | 0.05 |
| 1883 | 8 | #717 | 0.07 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Ema a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Ema has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 129 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Ema: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Ema, and how old are they?
4,160 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 86% of the 4,857 Americans ever recorded as Ema. The median Ema alive today is 15 years old; half are between 8 and 23.
The 2020 Census counted 5,577 people named Ema (5,527 women and girls, 50 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 3,429 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1.6 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 60 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 110 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 140 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 310 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,700 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,830 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Ema born?
The states with the most babies named Ema are Texas, California and Florida, with 69% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 29 | #988 | 1.3× |
| California | 26 | #1,036 | 1.1× |
| Florida | 22 | #742 | 1.4× |
| New York | 16 | #956 | 0.9× |
| New Jersey | 6 | #1,073 | 0.5× |
| Georgia | 6 | #1,424 | 0.3× |
| Colorado | 6 | #826 | 0.3× |
Where Ema is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Ema is most over-represented in Florida: since 1910 it was given 1.4 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Ema with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 809,205 babies since 1880, Ema is the third most given (<1% of them). In 2025 it was given to 164 of their 14,435 babies (1.1%), the fifth most given that year.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Ema
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Ema and names like it
- Compare Ema and EmmaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2020sEma peaked in 2025.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Ema since 1910.
- Portuguese namesWiktionary’s origin for Ema: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2025The year the most babies were named Ema.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Ema alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with EMost given first.