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 [ 2 syll. em-ma, emm-a ] The girl name Emma is pronounced as EHMah KEY. Emma is primarily used in the English, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, and Italian languages, and its language of origin is Latin and Germanic. Latin and Germanic origin, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, and Italian use: The name originated as a short form of compound names such as Ermintrude or Irmgard, which begin with 'Erm-' or 'Irm-' and thus contain the element 'ermen' (whole, immense, universal) or 'irmin' (whole, immense, universal). It was introduced to England by Emma of Normandy (985-1052), who married King Ethelred the Unready of England and later his successor King Canute the Great of Denmark; she was the mother of King Edward the Confessor with the former. The name was thereafter widely adopted by medieval English speakers. It later saw a revival in the 18th and 19th centuries, promoted by the fictional young women bearing the name in Matthew Prior's poem Henry and Emma (1709), Jane Austen's novel Emma (1815), and Gustave Flaubert's novel Madame Bovary (1856). It was also borne then by Lady Emma Hamilton (1761-1815), the mistress of Lord Nelson. The name is also used now as a diminutive of Emma despite the difference in etymology. The English and German name Erma and the English and Japanese name Ima are variations of the name. In addition, Emma is a pet form of the English name Emily. Other forms of Emma include the short forms Em (English) and Emm (English), the pet forms Emmi (English and German), Emmie (English), and Emmy (Dutch and English), and the variant spelling Ema (Czech, English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Slavic). See also the related forms, the English Emmalyn, the English Emmarald, the English Emmeline, the English Emmet, the English and German Irmgard, and the English, French, and German Ermintrude. Emma is a very popular baby name for girls, and it is also viewed as rather trendy. The name has been increasing in popularity since the 1970s. At the height of its usage in 2003, 1.133% of baby girls were given the name Emma. It ranked at #2 then. In 2008, its usage was 0.904% and its ranking #1, and it was the most popular within all girl names in its group. In 2008, 7.950% more girls were named Emma than the 2nd most popular name, the English Emily. The name Emma has been mostly given to girls, though it has also been used as a boy name in the past century. In 1910, the name Emma was given to 76 times more girls than boys. Baby names that sound like Emma include the Irish and Scottish Eithne, the English Emi, the English Emie, the Turkish Emine, the English and German Emmi, the English Emmie, the Dutch and English Emmy, the Irish, English, and German Ena, the Frisian and German Enna, the English and Irish Enya, the English Aimee, the French Aimeé, the French Aimée, the English Aimi, the English Aimie, the English Aimy, the Finnish, Scandinavian, and Catalan Aina, the Finnish Aino, the Vietnamese Am, and the English Amy. Details of famous persons named Emma: KEY: Pronunciation for Emma: EH as in "Ed (EH.D)" ; M as in "me (M.IY)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)"   |
