Mostly girls · peaked in 2025
Emerson name popularity since 1925
63,900 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Emerson (53.3% girls, 46.7% boys). Half of them were born in 2015 or earlier, so the typical Emerson is about 11 years old in 2026. Emerson peaked in 2025 as the #122 name for girls, and it ranked #122 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 63,900
- Named Emerson, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #122
- for girls in 2025 (2,241 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 53.3% girls
- 34,050 girls · 29,850 boys
- Most popular in
- Colorado
- 2.04× its national share
Peak year is the year Emerson made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Emerson births per year, 1925–2025
2025 was the biggest year for Emerson both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 2001 and 2006, Emerson became 5.5× more common, from 1 in 9,840 baby girls to 1 in 1,780.
Shaded on the chart. This compares Emerson's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Emerson.
Decade by decade
Babies named Emerson in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 0 | 919 | – |
| 1930s | 0 | 1,238 | Under 5 |
| 1940s | 0 | 1,092 | Under 5 |
| 1950s | 0 | 946 | Under 5 |
| 1960s | 0 | 759 | Under 5 |
| 1970s | 0 | 680 | Under 5 |
| 1980s | 0 | 858 | Under 5 |
| 1990s | 366 | 1,317 | #5,759 |
| 2000s | 6,205 | 3,766 | #443 |
| 2010s | 16,233 | 10,583 | #180 |
| 2020–25 | 11,246 | 7,692 | #122 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000. "Under 5" means fewer than 5 girls got the name.
Generation fingerprint
62.7% of babies named Emerson from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen Alpha years (2013–2025). The full split by generation:
Where Emerson is most popular
The index compares Emerson's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Emerson.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Colorado | 2.04× | 1,487 |
| New Hampshire | 1.70× | 316 |
| North Carolina | 1.61× | 2,693 |
| Virginia | 1.46× | 1,949 |
| Utah | 1.45× | 731 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Emerson and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Emerson (this page) | 34,050 | 2025 |
| Emersyn | 22,246 | 2025 |
| Emmerson | 2,480 | 2013 |
| Emersen | 1,039 | 2011 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Emerson's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Emerson.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Emerson (2025).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data