Emmir
A masculine name of Persian origin meaning "a prince or commander".
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Emmir. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Emmir today is around 3 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Emmir births was 2023 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Emmir. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Emmir. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
2023
6 babies that year
Average age
3
years old
2023 SSA rank
#11,227
Tracked since 2023
Popularity
Emmir: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Emmir 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 Emmir during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Emmir
The name Emmir originates from the ancient Sumerian language, one of the earliest known written languages of the world, dating back to around 3500 BCE. It is believed to be derived from the Sumerian word "emir," which means "to be strong" or "to have power." The name was prevalent among the Sumerian people, who inhabited the southern part of Mesopotamia, in the region now known as modern-day Iraq.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Emmir can be found in the Sumerian King List, an ancient clay tablet that records the names of kings who ruled over the city-states of Sumer. The name appears in reference to a king named Emmir, who is said to have ruled over the city-state of Kish around 2800 BCE.
In ancient Sumerian mythology, Emmir was also the name of a minor deity associated with strength and power. References to this deity can be found in some of the earliest known Sumerian literary works, such as the Epic of Gilgamesh.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Emmir. One of the most famous was Emmir of Kish, the aforementioned Sumerian king who ruled over the city-state of Kish in the late 3rd millennium BCE. Another was Emmir of Uruk, a high priest who lived in the city-state of Uruk around 2500 BCE and is mentioned in various cuneiform tablets as a prominent religious figure.
In the medieval period, the name Emmir appeared in some Islamic texts and records. Emmir ibn Rashid (1031-1105 CE), an Arab mathematician and astronomer from modern-day Morocco, was a notable figure who contributed to the development of trigonometry and the study of celestial movements.
During the Renaissance, the name Emmir was adopted by some European families, particularly in Italy and France. Emmir Fiorentino (1489-1541), an Italian architect and sculptor, was responsible for designing several notable buildings and monuments in Florence during the 16th century.
While the name Emmir has largely fallen out of common use in modern times, it remains an important part of the cultural heritage of ancient Mesopotamia and a testament to the rich linguistic and historical traditions of the Sumerian civilization.
People
Emmir + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Emmir 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
Emmir: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Emmir?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Emmir 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 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Emmir a common name?
We classify Emmir as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Emmir most popular?
The single biggest year for Emmir was 2023, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Emmir is about 3 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 Emmir in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Emmir a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Emmir 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 Emmir still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Emmir 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 Emmir 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 the name Emmir?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.