How Many People Are Named Emerson?
An estimated 57,036 people in the United States have the first name Emerson. It is used for both genders, with 50.3% male. The average bearer is 15 years old, and Emerson peaked in popularity in 2017 with 3,299 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Emerson as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Emerson paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- Emerson is a genuinely unisex name, given to both boys and girls in roughly equal numbers.
- Emerson is a modern name. With an average bearer age of just 15, it has gained most of its popularity in recent years.
Estimated Living Americans
57,036
About 1 in 6,009 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
50.3% confidence
Average Age
15
years old
Peak Year
2017
3,299 births
Total Registered
63,935
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Emerson
Emerson is a genuinely unisex name, used for both males (50.3%) and females (49.7%). Out of 63,935 total births registered, 32,138 were male and 31,797 were female.
Emerson as a male name
Ranked #270 in 2024
1,270 male births in 2024
Peak: 2019 (1,343 births)
Emerson as a female name
Ranked #151 in 2024
1,965 female births in 2024
Peak: 2017 (1,978 births)
Emerson: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Emerson span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 2010s, when 26,811 babies were registered. While Emerson is less common than at its peak in the 2010s, it remains a well-established name with steady registrations.
Emerson by Decade
How has Emerson tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 185 | 185 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 194 | 194 | 0 | |
| 1900s | 321 | 321 | 0 | |
| 1910s | 1,751 | 1,751 | 0 | |
| 1920s | 2,139 | 2,139 | 0 | |
| 1930s | 1,238 | 1,238 | 0 | |
| 1940s | 1,093 | 1,093 | 0 | |
| 1950s | 946 | 946 | 0 | |
| 1960s | 759 | 759 | 0 | |
| 1970s | 680 | 680 | 0 | |
| 1980s | 858 | 858 | 0 | |
| 1990s | 1,683 | 1,317 | 366 | |
| 2000s | 9,970 | 3,766 | 6,204 | |
| 2010s | 26,811 | 10,580 | 16,231 | |
| 2020s | 15,307 | 6,311 | 8,996 | |
Emerson by State
Birth registrations for Emerson span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Texas, Ohio. The lowest are in Wyoming, Hawaii, Alaska. On average, about 1,117 Emersons were registered per state.
Emerson + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Emerson as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Emerson
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
Emerson: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Emerson?
We estimate approximately 57,036 people named Emerson are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 6,009 Americans share this first name.
Is Emerson a common name?
Emerson is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99.2% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 63,935 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Emerson most popular?
Emerson reached peak popularity in 2017, when 3,299 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Emerson is approximately 15 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Emerson a male name?
Emerson is predominantly male. 50.3% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Emerson Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Emerson Smith, Emerson Johnson, Emerson Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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