Emerson
Emerson is ranked 270th among boys in 2024 (1,270 births). Its best rank was 268th, in 2020, 2023.
- Rank in 2024
- #270down 2 from 2023
- Births in 2024
- 1,2700.07% of boys
- Peak year
- 20191,343 births
- Best rank
- #268first in 2020
- Since 1880
- 63,935people given the name
The story in the numbers
32,138 boys have been named Emerson in the United States since 1880, according to Social Security records. The busiest single year was 2019, with 1,343 births.
This is a comeback. After an early peak the name fell to a fraction of its former share, and it has been climbing again for the past decade.
Half of everyone given the name was born by 2011, and the 2010s alone account for 33%. It has spent 130 of 145 years in the top 1,000.
Emerson is used for both sexes: 50% of its bearers are girls (31,797), most of them born around 2017.
Rank among boys, year by year
By decade
| Decade | boys named Emerson | |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 185 | |
| 1890s | 194 | |
| 1900s | 321 | |
| 1910s | 1,751 | |
| 1920s | 2,139 | |
| 1930s | 1,238 | |
| 1940s | 1,093 | |
| 1950s | 946 | |
| 1960s | 759 | |
| 1970s | 680 | |
| 1980s | 858 | |
| 1990s | 1,317 | |
| 2000s | 3,766 | |
| 2010s | 10,580 | |
| 2020s | 6,311 |
In 2019, its biggest year
Emerson was the 269th most given boy’s name that year. The top five boys’ names of 2019 were Liam, Noah, Oliver, William and Elijah. See all of 2019.
Names that rose and fell with Emerson
Same sex, most similar popularity curve over 145 years, in five-year steps — the shape of the line, not the size.
- Lawsonpeak 2021
- Princepeak 2019
- Edisonpeak 2018
- Emmittpeak 2019
- Oliverpeak 2024
- Hezekiahpeak 2024
- Jasperpeak 2023
- Millerpeak 2024
What this page does not tell you. The Social Security data records how many babies were given a name, not what the name means or where it comes from — so neither do we. Counts cover people with a Social Security number; names given to fewer than five babies in a year are withheld. More on the data.