Ezmeralda
A feminine name of Spanish origin meaning "emerald".
Name Census estimates that about 484 living Americans carry the first name Ezmeralda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ezmeralda today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ezmeralda births was 2017 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ezmeralda. 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
484
~ 1 in 708,170 Americans
Peak year
2017
29 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,448
Tracked since 1989
Census
Ezmeralda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 316 people with the first name Ezmeralda, which placed it at #28,429 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#28,429
National first-name rank
People counted
316
316 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
88.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ezmeralda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ezmeralda is Hispanic at 88.9%. The next largest groups are White (8.9%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Ezmeralda described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Ezmeralda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino88.9% · 281
- White8.9% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 3
- Two or more races0.9% · 3
- Black or African American0.3% · 1
Popularity
Ezmeralda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ezmeralda from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 216 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Ezmeralda remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ezmeralda 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 Ezmeralda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ezmeraldas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Ezmeralda
Ezmeralda is a feminine given name with origins that can be traced back to the Spanish language. It is a variant spelling of the name Esmeralda, which derives from the Spanish word "esmeralda," meaning "emerald." The name is associated with the precious gemstone and is believed to have gained popularity during the Middle Ages in Spain.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ezmeralda comes from the 15th century novel "La Celestina" by Fernando de Rojas. In this work, published in 1499, the character Ezmeralda is portrayed as a young woman of great beauty and charm. This literary reference likely contributed to the name's dissemination and use throughout Spain and other Spanish-speaking regions.
During the Renaissance period, the name Ezmeralda gained further recognition and popularity due to its association with the character of the same name in the famous novel "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame" by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. In the novel, Ezmeralda is depicted as a captivating and free-spirited gypsy dancer who becomes the object of desire for several men, including the hunchbacked bell-ringer Quasimodo.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Ezmeralda. One such individual was Ezmeralda Annereau (1841-1926), a French actress and comedian who performed in numerous plays and operettas during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Another prominent Ezmeralda was Ezmeralda Arteaga (1875-1954), a Mexican operatic soprano who gained international acclaim for her performances in operas by composers such as Verdi and Puccini.
In the realm of literature, Ezmeralda Cervantes (1926-1996) was a Mexican poet and writer who authored several collections of poetry and novels, exploring themes of love, identity, and social issues. Additionally, Ezmeralda Aburto (1927-2015) was a renowned Argentine actress and theater director who made significant contributions to the Argentine theater scene throughout her career.
One of the more recent historical figures named Ezmeralda was Ezmeralda Herrera (1904-1998), a Nicaraguan poet and activist who played a pivotal role in the literary and cultural movements of her country. Her poetry often addressed themes of social justice, women's rights, and the struggles of the Nicaraguan people.
It is important to note that while these individuals hailed from different eras and backgrounds, they all shared the unique and distinctive name Ezmeralda, which has its roots in the Spanish language and has been associated with literary and cultural significance throughout history.
People
Ezmeralda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ezmeralda 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
Ezmeralda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ezmeralda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 484 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ezmeralda 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 708,170 US residents.
Is Ezmeralda a common name?
We classify Ezmeralda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 489 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ezmeralda most popular?
The single biggest year for Ezmeralda was 2017, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ezmeralda is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ezmeralda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 316 people with the name Ezmeralda, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,429 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Ezmeralda in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Ezmeralda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ezmeralda appears almost entirely female. Of the 314 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Ezmeralda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ezmeralda is Hispanic at 88.9%. The next largest groups are White (8.9%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Ezmeralda most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Ezmeralda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.9% (281 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Ezmeralda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ezmeralda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ezmeralda 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 Ezmeralda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ezmeralda 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 Ezmeralda 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.
How common is the name Ezmeralda?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Ezmeralda, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.