Emerson
Emerson is a unisex name: 2,241 girls and 1,371 boys were given it in 2025 (#122 among girls’ names and #254 among boys’, #168 among all names counting both); 67,571 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026). Girls have outnumbered boys among babies named Emerson every year since 2002.
An estimated 60,200 Americans named Emerson and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (89% of everyone recorded); the median is 10 years old and half are between 5 and 16.
Emerson is among the most evenly shared names of 2025: #13 of 43 unisex names by how close its split is to half and half.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Emerson by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Emerson mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Emerson is “a female given name transferred from the surname.”
Also “a male given name transferred from the surname.”
/ˈɛmɚ.sən/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Emerson?
#122 among girls’ names, 2025
Emerson rose from #180 in 2015 to #122 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 1.0 to 1.4 per 1,000.
3,612 babies in 2025, the peak
Emerson peaked in 2025, when 3,612 babies were given it (2,241 girls, #122 among girls’ names). In 2024 it went to 1,971 girls.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,241 | #122 | 1,371 | #254 |
| 2024 | 1,971 | #151 | 1,276 | #270 |
| 2023 | 1,774 | #161 | 1,261 | #268 |
| 2022 | 1,724 | #170 | 1,269 | #274 |
| 2021 | 1,743 | #168 | 1,239 | #277 |
| 2020 | 1,793 | #155 | 1,276 | #268 |
| 2019 | 1,865 | #152 | 1,344 | #269 |
| 2018 | 1,948 | #143 | 1,242 | #284 |
| 2017 | 1,978 | #150 | 1,322 | #276 |
| 2016 | 1,962 | #161 | 1,226 | #295 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,798 | #180 | 1,203 | #300 |
| 2014 | 1,683 | #196 | 1,056 | #324 |
| 2013 | 1,525 | #211 | 979 | #331 |
| 2012 | 1,313 | #245 | 838 | #363 |
| 2011 | 1,151 | #276 | 737 | #387 |
| 2010 | 1,010 | #316 | 636 | #430 |
| 2009 | 1,017 | #323 | 639 | #437 |
| 2008 | 1,165 | #290 | 585 | #473 |
| 2007 | 1,080 | #312 | 537 | #493 |
| 2006 | 1,069 | #308 | 469 | #539 |
| 2005 | 683 | #443 | 387 | #585 |
| 2004 | 268 | #904 | 267 | #718 |
| 2003 | 324 | #766 | 264 | #709 |
| 2002 | 280 | #833 | 223 | #773 |
| 2001 | 183 | #1,140 | 225 | #761 |
| 2000 | 136 | #1,367 | 170 | #909 |
| 1999 | 143 | #1,285 | 168 | #894 |
| 1998 | 146 | #1,245 | 167 | #867 |
| 1997 | 20 | #5,080 | 119 | #1,064 |
| 1996 | 16 | #5,865 | 127 | #986 |
| 1995 | 16 | #5,754 | 139 | #940 |
| 1994 | 14 | #6,419 | 112 | #1,050 |
| 1993 | 11 | #7,654 | 130 | #941 |
| 1992 | under 5 | 119 | #990 | |
| 1991 | under 5 | 106 | #1,042 | |
| 1990 | under 5 | 130 | #901 | |
| 1989 | under 5 | 111 | #966 | |
| 1988 | under 5 | 95 | #994 | |
| 1987 | under 5 | 86 | #1,024 | |
| 1986 | under 5 | 100 | #913 | |
| 1985 | under 5 | 87 | #975 | |
| 1984 | under 5 | 89 | #933 | |
| 1983 | under 5 | 76 | #1,016 | |
| 1982 | under 5 | 75 | #1,051 | |
| 1981 | under 5 | 72 | #1,074 | |
| 1980 | under 5 | 67 | #1,107 | |
| 1979 | under 5 | 74 | #1,030 | |
| 1978 | under 5 | 73 | #1,020 | |
| 1977 | under 5 | 68 | #1,049 | |
| 1976 | under 5 | 78 | #942 | |
| 1975 | under 5 | 66 | #1,012 | |
| 1974 | under 5 | 56 | #1,101 | |
| 1973 | under 5 | 66 | #995 | |
| 1972 | under 5 | 66 | #994 | |
| 1971 | under 5 | 63 | #1,028 | |
| 1970 | under 5 | 70 | #960 | |
| 1969 | under 5 | 57 | #1,019 | |
| 1968 | under 5 | 64 | #902 | |
| 1967 | under 5 | 68 | #870 | |
| 1966 | under 5 | 67 | #884 | |
| 1965 | under 5 | 74 | #854 | |
| 1964 | under 5 | 88 | #806 | |
| 1963 | under 5 | 89 | #803 | |
| 1962 | under 5 | 89 | #803 | |
| 1961 | under 5 | 74 | #890 | |
| 1960 | under 5 | 89 | #810 | |
| 1959 | under 5 | 87 | #818 | |
| 1958 | under 5 | 79 | #851 | |
| 1957 | under 5 | 93 | #779 | |
| 1956 | under 5 | 88 | #793 | |
| 1955 | under 5 | 79 | #824 | |
| 1954 | under 5 | 117 | #665 | |
| 1953 | under 5 | 101 | #706 | |
| 1952 | under 5 | 88 | #751 | |
| 1951 | under 5 | 112 | #660 | |
| 1950 | under 5 | 102 | #678 | |
| 1949 | under 5 | 116 | #634 | |
| 1948 | under 5 | 109 | #650 | |
| 1947 | under 5 | 116 | #640 | |
| 1946 | under 5 | 97 | #654 | |
| 1945 | under 5 | 82 | #665 | |
| 1944 | under 5 | 103 | #606 | |
| 1943 | under 5 | 115 | #593 | |
| 1942 | under 5 | 116 | #576 | |
| 1941 | under 5 | 113 | #566 | |
| 1940 | under 5 | 125 | #520 | |
| 1939 | under 5 | 96 | #588 | |
| 1938 | under 5 | 121 | #530 | |
| 1937 | under 5 | 116 | #540 | |
| 1936 | under 5 | 108 | #549 | |
| 1935 | under 5 | 110 | #549 | |
| 1934 | under 5 | 130 | #508 | |
| 1933 | under 5 | 121 | #514 | |
| 1932 | under 5 | 141 | #481 | |
| 1931 | under 5 | 124 | #520 | |
| 1930 | under 5 | 171 | #455 | |
| 1929 | under 5 | 127 | #520 | |
| 1928 | under 5 | 188 | #435 | |
| 1927 | under 5 | 186 | #448 | |
| 1926 | under 5 | 187 | #442 | |
| 1925 | under 5 | 231 | #394 | |
| 1924 | under 5 | 249 | #379 | |
| 1923 | under 5 | 222 | #402 | |
| 1922 | under 5 | 254 | #378 | |
| 1921 | under 5 | 236 | #395 | |
| 1920 | under 5 | 259 | #373 | |
| 1919 | under 5 | 264 | #351 | |
| 1918 | under 5 | 273 | #348 | |
| 1917 | under 5 | 229 | #371 | |
| 1916 | under 5 | 225 | #361 | |
| 1915 | under 5 | 229 | #354 | |
| 1914 | under 5 | 164 | #370 | |
| 1913 | under 5 | 114 | #404 | |
| 1912 | under 5 | 142 | #304 | |
| 1911 | under 5 | 59 | #357 | |
| 1910 | under 5 | 52 | #356 | |
| 1909 | under 5 | 41 | #373 | |
| 1908 | under 5 | 32 | #422 | |
| 1907 | under 5 | 41 | #335 | |
| 1906 | under 5 | 28 | #414 | |
| 1905 | under 5 | 36 | #341 | |
| 1904 | under 5 | 30 | #371 | |
| 1903 | under 5 | 26 | #383 | |
| 1902 | under 5 | 28 | #373 | |
| 1901 | under 5 | 25 | #374 | |
| 1900 | under 5 | 34 | #382 | |
| 1899 | under 5 | 19 | #428 | |
| 1898 | under 5 | 25 | #397 | |
| 1897 | under 5 | 13 | #588 | |
| 1896 | under 5 | 20 | #445 | |
| 1895 | under 5 | 21 | #430 | |
| 1894 | under 5 | 23 | #390 | |
| 1893 | under 5 | 20 | #407 | |
| 1892 | under 5 | 19 | #449 | |
| 1891 | under 5 | 21 | #379 | |
| 1890 | under 5 | 13 | #543 | |
| 1889 | under 5 | 22 | #383 | |
| 1888 | under 5 | 18 | #449 | |
| 1887 | under 5 | 16 | #428 | |
| 1886 | under 5 | 17 | #437 | |
| 1885 | under 5 | 17 | #446 | |
| 1884 | under 5 | 15 | #493 | |
| 1883 | under 5 | 20 | #384 | |
| 1882 | under 5 | 15 | #475 | |
| 1881 | under 5 | 20 | #377 | |
| 1880 | under 5 | 25 | #344 |
Ranks: girls’ names and boys’ names ranked separately in each year’s SSA file; “under 5” is a year SSA did not list the name for that sex.
Is Emerson a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 67,571 Americans recorded as Emerson, 50% are girls and 50% boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Emerson: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Emerson, and how old are they?
60,200 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 89% of the 67,571 Americans ever recorded as Emerson. The median Emerson alive today is 10 years old; half are between 5 and 16.
The 2020 Census counted 43,461 people named Emerson (22,269 women and girls, 21,192 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 42,800 born in the U.S. The Census count is 2% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 385 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,180 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 951 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,630 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 16,200 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 39,800 |
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 Emerson born?
The states with the most babies named Emerson are Texas, California and North Carolina, with 20% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 295 | #173 | 0.7× |
| California | 233 | #288 | 0.6× |
| North Carolina | 179 | #73 | 1.3× |
| Ohio | 169 | #91 | 1.4× |
| Florida | 158 | #203 | 0.7× |
| Pennsylvania | 155 | #109 | 1.0× |
| Georgia | 155 | #72 | 1.1× |
| New York | 142 | #207 | 0.7× |
| Tennessee | 138 | #77 | 1.2× |
| Michigan | 133 | #90 | 1.2× |
Where Emerson is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Emerson is most over-represented in Ohio: 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 Emerson 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 96,300 babies since 1880, Emerson is the most given (70% of them). In 2025 it was given to 3,612 of their 5,999 babies (60%), again the most given.
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 Emerson
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 Emerson and names like it
- Compare Emerson and EmersynBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2020sEmerson peaked in 2025.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Emerson since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Emerson: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2025The year the most babies were named Emerson.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Emerson alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with EMost given first.