Emma (given name)

Emma is a given female name. It is derived from the Germanic word ermen meaning whole or universal, and was originally a short form of Germanic names that began with ermen. Emma is also used as a diminutive of Emily, Emmeline, Amelia or any other name beginning with "em". It was introduced to England by Emma of Normandy, who was the wife both of king Ethelred II (and by him the mother of Edward the Confessor) and later of king Canute. It was also borne by an 11th-century Austrian saint, who is sometimes called Hemma.

After the Norman conquest this name became common in England. It was revived in the 18th century, perhaps in part due to Matthew Prior's poem 'Henry and Emma' (1709). It was also used by Jane Austen for the central character, the matchmaker Emma Woodhouse, in her novel 'Emma' (1816).

It has been among the top names given to baby girls in the United States, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Ireland, France, Sweden, Belgium, Canada, Australia, Norway, New Zealand, Hungary, Finland, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain in the past 10 years. It began gaining popularity in the United Kingdom during the 1960s. By 1974 it was the fourth most popular girl's name in the United Kingdom. It was still in the top 10 as late as 1995, but had fallen out of the top 20 by 2005 and in 2009 it ranked at 41st.

It became popular in the United States later in the 20th century, reaching the top 100 names for girls in the late 1990s and rising to third place on the popularity chart in 2007. It was the most popular name for girls in the United States in 2008, but fell back to second place in 2009.

Notable people named Emma

 * Emma Anzai, bassist of Australian band Sick Puppies
 * Emma Bonino (born 1948), Italian politician and human rights activist
 * Emma Bull (born 1954), American science fiction and fantasy author
 * Emma Bolger, Irish actress
 * Emma Bunton (born 1976), English singer and a member of the Spice Girls
 * Emma Caulfield (born 1973), American actress
 * Emma Churchill (1862–1957), founder of the Salvation Army in Newfoundland
 * Emma Darwin (1808–1896), wife of Charles Darwin
 * Emma Ferguson, English actress and fashion icon, known for the series Mile High
 * Emma Fürstenhoff (born 1802), Swedish florist
 * Emma George (born 1974), Australian pole vaulter
 * Emma Goldman (1869–1940), Lithuania-born anarchist known for her writings and speeches
 * Emma Green (born 1984), Swedish athlete
 * Emma, Lady Hamilton (born 1761), 18th-century English artist's model and performer
 * Emma Hippolyte, Saint Lucian politician
 * Emma Hwang (born 1970), Taiwanese-American scientist and aquanaut
 * Emma Lahana (born 1984), New Zealand actress and singer
 * Emma Laine (born 1986), tennis player in Finland, born in Karlstad, Sweden
 * Emma Laura, Mexican actress
 * Emma Lazarus (1849–1887), American poet
 * Queen Emma of Hawaii (1836–1885), queen to King Kamehameha IV from 1856 to his death in 1863
 * Emma of Mělník (b. before 950, d. 1005/1006) was wife of Boleslav II of Bohemia and Bohemian duchess
 * Emma of Normandy (c. 985-1052), twice Queen consort of the Kingdom of England
 * Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1858–1934), Queen consort of William III of the Netherlands, who was also the Grand Duke of Luxembourg
 * Emma Rigby (born 1989), English actress, known for her role as Hannah Ashworth in Hollyoaks
 * Emma Roberts (born 1991), American actress and singer
 * Emma Rochlin (born 1978), Scottish field hockey defender
 * Emma Samms (born 1960), English actress
 * Emma Shah (born 1981), Kuwaiti singer
 * Emma Shapplin (born 1974), French soprano
 * Emma Snowsill (born 1981), Australian World Class Triathlete
 * Emily 'Emma' Stone (born 1988), American actress
 * Emma Thompson (born 1959), two-time Academy Award, Emmy Award and BAFTA-winning English actress, comedian, and screenwriter
 * Emma Watson (born 1990), British actress best known for playing Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films
 * Emma Chishimba (born 1976), Zambian Model, was Miss Commonwealth 2006

Fictional Characters named "Emma"

 * Emma Bovary, the heroine of Gustave Flaubert's novel Madame Bovary
 * Emma Coolidge, Heroes character
 * Emma Frost, Marvel Comics character
 * Emma Geller-Green, daughter of Rachel Green and Ross Geller
 * Emma George, main character from the upcoming comic book Odyssey
 * Emma Kliesen, a minor character from the Tekken series
 * Emma Nelson, Degrassi: The Next Generation character
 * Emma Peel, fictional television spy played by Diana Rigg in the British 1960s adventure series The Avengers
 * Emma Pillsbury, Glee character
 * Emma Sheen, Gundam pilot from the AEUG group in the Zeta Gundam series
 * Emma Woodhouse, the title character of Jane Austen's Emma
 * Emma, a character on the Teletoon Canadian animated sitcom Stoked.
 * Emma Gilbert, from H20, Just add Water
 * Emma Becker, main character in The Lying Game series by Sara Shepard
 * Emma Swan, protagonist/heroine in the Once Upon A Time television series
 * Emma Ross, from the Disney Channel series, "Jessie"
 * Emma Zunz, from the eponymous short story by Jorge Luis Borges
 * Emma Banks, from the book of chocolate addicts by Ceilidh Bridgeman
 * Emma Warner, main character in Out of this World series by Maryam Wells