Emmaus
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "warm spring" or "truth".
Name Census estimates that about 194 living Americans carry the first name Emmaus. It is a predominantly male name (97.4% of registrations). The average person named Emmaus today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Emmaus births was 2021 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Emmaus. 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
194
~ 1 in 1,766,775 Americans
Peak year
2021
18 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,711
Tracked since 2007
Gender
Gender distribution for Emmaus
Emmaus leans heavily male at 97.4% of total registrations, but 5 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Emmaus as a male name
- Ranked #5,711 in 2024
- 16 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (18 births)
Emmaus as a female name
- Ranked #17,360 in 2013
- 5 female births in 2013
- Peak: 2013 (5 births)
Popularity
Emmaus: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Emmaus 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 107 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Emmaus remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Emmaus 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 Emmaus 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 Emmaus
The name Emmaus is a biblical name with origins in ancient Hebrew and Greek. It is derived from the Hebrew word "Ammaus" or "Emmaus," which means "warm spring" or "warm baths." The name is mentioned in the New Testament of the Bible in the Gospel of Luke, where it refers to a village near Jerusalem.
According to the biblical account, Emmaus was the location where Jesus appeared to two of his disciples after his resurrection. This event, known as the Road to Emmaus, is a significant story in Christianity and has contributed to the recognition of the name Emmaus.
The earliest recorded use of the name Emmaus can be traced back to the 1st century AD, when it referred to the village mentioned in the Bible. Over the centuries, the name has been used as a given name, particularly among Christian communities, as a way to honor the biblical reference and its significance in the Christian faith.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Emmaus was Emmaus of Cremona, an Italian Catholic priest who lived in the 5th century AD. He is known for his writings on the Gospels and his contributions to the early Church.
Another notable figure with the name Emmaus was Emmaus of Arles, a 6th-century bishop and saint in the Catholic Church. He was known for his leadership and advocacy for the poor and disadvantaged in the city of Arles, France.
In the 12th century, there was Emmaus of Trier, a German monk and chronicler who wrote about the history of his monastery and the region of Trier.
During the Renaissance period, Emmaus Filon, an Italian humanist and scholar, gained recognition for his work in translating ancient Greek texts into Latin in the 15th century.
In more recent history, Emmaus Gouws was a South African lawyer and politician who served as a member of parliament in the early 20th century, actively advocating for the rights of Afrikaner people.
People
Emmaus + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Emmaus 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
Emmaus: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Emmaus?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 194 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Emmaus 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 1,766,775 US residents.
Is Emmaus a common name?
We classify Emmaus as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 195 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Emmaus most popular?
The single biggest year for Emmaus was 2021, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Emmaus is about 9 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 Emmaus in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Emmaus a male name?
Yes, 97.4% of people registered as Emmaus in the SSA data are male. 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 Emmaus still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Emmaus 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 Emmaus 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 share the name Emmaus?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.