NameRealm
Emerson

Emerson: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“Emery's son”
Origin
English
Say it
EM-er-sən · 3 syllables
Used for
Both (50% girls, 50% boys since 1880)

From an English surname meaning 'son of Emery'. Emery ultimately comes from Germanic elements meaning home and power.

English namesSurname-style namesModern names

How popular is Emerson?

2024972 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Emerson in 20243,235

2024 rank#151 girls

Peak year2024

Total US babies since 188063,935

Emerson is rising: use over the last five years is 1.5× what it was a decade earlier.

Names like Emerson

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Emersynson of Emery · English
  • Averyruler of elves · English
  • Riverriver · English
  • Sawyerwoodcutter · English
  • TatumTata's homestead · English
  • Haydenhay valley · English
  • Sagewise one; sage plant · English
  • Remingtonsettlement by the streambank · English

Emerson questions

What does the name Emerson mean?

Emerson means "Emery's son". It comes from English. From an English surname meaning 'son of Emery'. Emery ultimately comes from Germanic elements meaning home and power.

Is Emerson a boy or girl name?

Emerson is used for both: about 50% of US babies named Emerson since 1880 were girls.

How popular is Emerson?

3,235 US babies were named Emerson in 2024. Its peak year was 2024.

How do you pronounce Emerson?

Emerson is usually pronounced EM-er-sən.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.