Emmamae
A feminine name combining Emma meaning "universal" and Mae meaning "bitter".
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the first name Emmamae. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Emmamae today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Emmamae births was 2012 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Emmamae. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
123
~ 1 in 2,786,621 Americans
Peak year
2012
15 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2022 SSA rank
#14,091
Tracked since 2004
Popularity
Emmamae: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Emmamae from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 85 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Emmamae by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Emmamae during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Emmamae
The given name Emmamae is a unique combination of two distinct names, Emma and Mae, with origins tracing back to different linguistic roots. Emma finds its origins in the Germanic language, derived from the word "ermen," meaning "whole" or "universal," while Mae is believed to have roots in the Hebrew name Miriam or the Latin word "majus," meaning "greater."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Emma can be found in the 9th century, where it was borne by Emma of Altdorf, the wife of Emperor Louis the Pious. Emma gained widespread popularity in medieval Europe, particularly in England and Germany, where it was favored among the nobility.
The name Mae, on the other hand, gained prominence in the 19th century as a shortened form of the names Mary or Maria. It became a popular choice in English-speaking countries, particularly in the United States and England.
The combination of Emma and Mae into the unique name Emmamae is relatively modern, with the earliest recorded instances dating back to the late 19th or early 20th century. While the origins of this particular combination are not entirely clear, it likely emerged as a creative fusion of two already established names.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the first name Emmamae, albeit in separate forms. One such example is Emmamae Inez Woodhouse (1877-1964), an American educator and author who served as the president of the National Education Association from 1923 to 1924.
Another prominent figure with a similar name was Emma Mae Bale (1904-1988), an American educator and civil rights activist who played a significant role in desegregating public schools in Topeka, Kansas, during the pivotal Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954.
In the realm of literature, Emma Mae Tennant (1937-2017) was a British novelist and playwright known for her works exploring themes of feminism and social issues.
The world of music also had its share of notable individuals with similar names, such as Emma Mae Jenkins (1913-1968), an American blues singer and songwriter, and Emma Mae Daugherty (1896-1970), an American singer and actress who performed in vaudeville and Broadway productions.
While the name Emmamae may not have a long and illustrious history, it represents a unique blending of two historically significant names, each with its own rich cultural heritage and linguistic origins.
People
Emmamae + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Emmamae as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Emmamae: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Emmamae?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 123 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Emmamae going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 2,786,621 US residents.
Is Emmamae a common name?
We classify Emmamae as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 124 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Emmamae most popular?
The single biggest year for Emmamae was 2012, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Emmamae is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Emmamae in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Emmamae a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Emmamae in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Emmamae still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Emmamae in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Emmamae can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Emmamae as a first name?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Emmamae, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.