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Emma

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: emma, emmä, and əmmâ

English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology

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Brought to England by the Normans; short form of compound given names beginning with a Frankish prototheme Ermin- or Irmin- "entire", from Proto-Germanic *ermunaz.

Pronunciation

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Proper noun

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Emma

  1. A female given name from the Germanic languages.
    • 1854, Matthew Hall, The Queens Before the Conquest, pages 259–260:
      Both Saxon and Norman chroniclers unite in representing the youthful Queen Emma as in a peculiar degree gifted with elegance and beauty; so that many flattering epithets had been bestowed on her - as "the Pearl," "the Flower," or "the Fair Maid" of Normandy.
    • 1917, Carl Van Vechten, Interpreters and Interpretations., A.A.Knopf, page 92:
      Emma Calvé...since Madame Bovary the name Emma suggests a solid bourgeois foundation, a country family...Emma Eames, a chilly name...a wind from the East.
    • 1980, Barbara Pym, A Few Green Leaves, →ISBN, page 8:
      The cottage now belonged to Emma's mother Beatrix, who was a tutor in English literature at a women's college, specialising in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century novel. This may have accounted for Emma's Christian name, for it had seemed to Beatrix unfair to call her daughter Emily, a name associated with her grandmother's servants rather than the author of The Wuthering Heights, so Emma had been chosen, perhaps with the hope that some of the qualities possessed by the heroine of the novel might be perpetuated.
    • 2019 August 13, Devan Cole and Caroline Kelly, “Cuccinelli rewrites Statue of Liberty poem to make case for limiting immigration”, in CNN‎[1], archived from the original on 27 May 2026:
      Ken Cuccinelli tweaked the famous poem from Emma Lazarus – whose words, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” are long associated with immigration to the US and the nation’s history as a haven – as part of a case for strict new measures pushed Monday by the Trump administration that could dramatically change the legal immigration system.

Usage notes

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  • Used in England since the Norman Conquest, fashionable in the 19th century, and again in the U.K. from the 1970s to the 1990s, and in the U.S.A. in the 1990s and the 2000s.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Anagrams

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Cebuano

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Etymology

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    Derived from English Emma.

    Proper noun

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    Emma

    1. a female given name from English [in turn from the Germanic languages]

    Danish

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    Etymology

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    From German Emma.

    Proper noun

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    Emma

    1. a female given name

    References

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    • [2] Danskernes Navne, based on CPR data: 21 325 females with the given name have been registered in Denmark between about 1890 (the population alive in 1967) and January 2005, with the frequency peak in the 2000s. Accessed on 19 June 2011.

    Dutch

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    Etymology

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    Borrowed from German Emma.

    Pronunciation

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    Proper noun

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    Emma f

    1. a female given name

    Estonian

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    Etymology

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    From German Emma.

    Proper noun

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    Emma

    1. a female given name

    Faroese

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    Proper noun

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    Emma f

    1. a female given name

    Usage notes

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    Matronymics

    • Emma's son: Emmuson
    • Emma's daughter: Emmudóttir

    Declension

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    singular
    indefinite
    nominative Emma
    accusative Emmu
    dative Emmu
    genitive Emmu

    Finnish

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    Etymology

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    From German Emma, later also as a diminutive of Emilia.[1]

    Pronunciation

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    • IPA(key): /ˈemːɑ/, [ˈe̞mːɑ̝]
    • Rhymes: -emːɑ
    • Syllabification(key): Em‧ma
    • Hyphenation(key): Em‧ma

    Proper noun

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    Emma

    1. a female given name
      • 1929 Väinö Siikaniemi/folk melody, Emma (song), in Suuri Toivelaulukirja, F-Kustannus Oy (2003), →ISBN, page 210:
        Oi muistatkos, Emma, sen kuutamoillan,
        kun yhdessä tansseista kuljettiin?
        Sinä sanasi annoit ja valasi vannoit
        ja lupasit olla mun omani.
        Oi Emma, Emma, oi Emma, Emma,
        kun lupasit olla mun omani.
        Oh Emma, do you remember that moonlit night
        when we were walking back from the dance together?
        You gave your word and made your vows
        and promised to be mine.
        Oh Emma, Emma, oh Emma, Emma,
        when you promised to be mine.
      • 1964, Kaarina Helakisa, Kaarina Helakisan satukirja, WSOY, page 10:
        ―Kuulepa lintu, sinun nimesi olkoon Emma, se on totta vieköön iloinen ja hupsu nimi, poika sanoi.
        ―Listen birdie, your name shall be Emma, that is indeed a happy and silly name, the boy said.
      • 1985, Keijo Siekkinen, Äidin hauta, Gummerus, →ISBN, page 9:
        Minulla on sana, josta pidän erityisen paljon, vaikka se ei ole paljon minkään näköinen, se on pulska niin kuin sinä ennen kuin rupesit laihtumaan. Sen sanan nimi on semmoinen. Minä laitan sen sinnekin minne se ei käy. Vaikka se on pulska niin se on kevyt. Se on niin kuin Emma. Emmalle me löydettiin nimi Messukylän vanhalta hautausmaalta.
        I have a word that I really like, even if it doesn't look like it much, it's rotund like you before you started losing weight. The name of the word is just like that. I'll stick it even in places where it doesn't belong, even if it's fleshy yet light. It's like Emma, whose name we found from the old Messukylä graveyard.

    Usage notes

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    • Popular in Finland at the end of the 19th century and again in the 2000s.

    Declension

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    Inflection of Emma (Kotus type 9/kala, no gradation)
    nominative Emma Emmat
    genitive Emman Emmojen
    partitive Emmaa Emmoja
    illative Emmaan Emmoihin
    singular plural
    nominative Emma Emmat
    accusative nom. Emma Emmat
    gen. Emman
    genitive Emman Emmojen
    Emmain rare
    partitive Emmaa Emmoja
    inessive Emmassa Emmoissa
    elative Emmasta Emmoista
    illative Emmaan Emmoihin
    adessive Emmalla Emmoilla
    ablative Emmalta Emmoilta
    allative Emmalle Emmoille
    essive Emmana Emmoina
    translative Emmaksi Emmoiksi
    abessive Emmatta Emmoitta
    instructive — Emmoin
    comitative See the possessive forms below.
    Possessive forms of Emma (Kotus type 9/kala, no gradation)
    first-person singular possessor
    singular plural
    nominative Emmani Emmani
    accusative nom. Emmani Emmani
    gen. Emmani
    genitive Emmani Emmojeni
    Emmaini rare
    partitive Emmaani Emmojani
    inessive Emmassani Emmoissani
    elative Emmastani Emmoistani
    illative Emmaani Emmoihini
    adessive Emmallani Emmoillani
    ablative Emmaltani Emmoiltani
    allative Emmalleni Emmoilleni
    essive Emmanani Emmoinani
    translative Emmakseni Emmoikseni
    abessive Emmattani Emmoittani
    instructive — —
    comitative — Emmoineni
    second-person singular possessor
    singular plural
    nominative Emmasi Emmasi
    accusative nom. Emmasi Emmasi
    gen. Emmasi
    genitive Emmasi Emmojesi
    Emmaisi rare
    partitive Emmaasi Emmojasi
    inessive Emmassasi Emmoissasi
    elative Emmastasi Emmoistasi
    illative Emmaasi Emmoihisi
    adessive Emmallasi Emmoillasi
    ablative Emmaltasi Emmoiltasi
    allative Emmallesi Emmoillesi
    essive Emmanasi Emmoinasi
    translative Emmaksesi Emmoiksesi
    abessive Emmattasi Emmoittasi
    instructive — —
    comitative — Emmoinesi
    first-person plural possessor
    singular plural
    nominative Emmamme Emmamme
    accusative nom. Emmamme Emmamme
    gen. Emmamme
    genitive Emmamme Emmojemme
    Emmaimme rare
    partitive Emmaamme Emmojamme
    inessive Emmassamme Emmoissamme
    elative Emmastamme Emmoistamme
    illative Emmaamme Emmoihimme
    adessive Emmallamme Emmoillamme
    ablative Emmaltamme Emmoiltamme
    allative Emmallemme Emmoillemme
    essive Emmanamme Emmoinamme
    translative Emmaksemme Emmoiksemme
    abessive Emmattamme Emmoittamme
    instructive — —
    comitative — Emmoinemme
    second-person plural possessor
    singular plural
    nominative Emmanne Emmanne
    accusative nom. Emmanne Emmanne
    gen. Emmanne
    genitive Emmanne Emmojenne
    Emmainne rare
    partitive Emmaanne Emmojanne
    inessive Emmassanne Emmoissanne
    elative Emmastanne Emmoistanne
    illative Emmaanne Emmoihinne
    adessive Emmallanne Emmoillanne
    ablative Emmaltanne Emmoiltanne
    allative Emmallenne Emmoillenne
    essive Emmananne Emmoinanne
    translative Emmaksenne Emmoiksenne
    abessive Emmattanne Emmoittanne
    instructive — —
    comitative — Emmoinenne
    third-person possessor
    singular plural
    nominative Emmansa Emmansa
    accusative nom. Emmansa Emmansa
    gen. Emmansa
    genitive Emmansa Emmojensa
    Emmainsa rare
    partitive Emmaansa Emmojaan
    Emmojansa
    inessive Emmassaan
    Emmassansa     		Emmoissaan
    Emmoissansa
    elative Emmastaan
    Emmastansa     		Emmoistaan
    Emmoistansa
    illative Emmaansa Emmoihinsa
    adessive Emmallaan
    Emmallansa     		Emmoillaan
    Emmoillansa
    ablative Emmaltaan
    Emmaltansa     		Emmoiltaan
    Emmoiltansa
    allative Emmalleen
    Emmallensa     		Emmoilleen
    Emmoillensa
    essive Emmanaan
    Emmanansa     		Emmoinaan
    Emmoinansa
    translative Emmakseen
    Emmaksensa     		Emmoikseen
    Emmoiksensa
    abessive Emmattaan
    Emmattansa     		Emmoittaan
    Emmoittansa
    instructive — —
    comitative — Emmoineen
    Emmoinensa
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    Statistics

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    • Emma is the 41st most common female given name in Finland, belonging to 15,432 female individuals (and as a middle name to 2,742 more), according to August 2025 data from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency of Finland.

    References

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    1. ^ Kustaa Vilkuna (2005) [1976], Pirjo Mikkonen, editor, Etunimet, 4th edition, Helsinki: Otava, published 2011, →ISBN

    Anagrams

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    French

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    Pronunciation

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    Proper noun

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    Emma f

    1. a female given name, equivalent to English Emma
      • 1857, Gustave Flaubert, translated by Eleanor Marx-Aveling, Madame Bovary: Part II, Chapter III::
        Charles désirait qu’on appelât l’enfant comme sa mère ; Emma s’y opposait. On parcourut le calendrier d’un bout à l’autre, et l’on consulta les étrangers.
        Charles wanted the child to be called after her mother; Emma opposed this. They ran over the calendar from end to end, and then consulted outsiders.

    Usage notes

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    • Popular in France in the 2000s.

    German

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    Etymology

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    Short form of compound female given names beginning with Proto-Germanic *ermana, Proto-Germanic *irmina "whole, entire".

    Pronunciation

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    Proper noun

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    Emma

    1. a female given name

    Usage notes

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    • Name of medieval German saints and queens. Popular in Germany in the 19th century and becoming popular in the 2000s.
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    Latvian

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    Etymology

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    First recorded as a given name of Latvians in 1852. From German Emma.

    Proper noun

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    Emma f

    1. a female given name

    Usage notes

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    • Popular in Latvia in the end of the 19th century

    References

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    • Klāvs Siliņš: Latviešu personvārdu vārdnīca. Riga "Zinātne" 1990, →ISBN
    • [3] Population Register of Latvia: Emma was the only given name of 687 persons in Latvia on May 21st 2010.

    Norwegian

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    Etymology

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    From German Emma. First recorded in Norway in the 1790s.

    Proper noun

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    Emma

    1. a female given name

    References

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    • Kristoffer Kruken - Ola Stemshaug: Norsk personnamnleksikon, Det Norske Samlaget, Oslo 1995, →ISBN
    • [4] Statistisk sentralbyrå, Namnestatistikk: 8 241 females with the given name Emma living in Norway on January 1st 2011, with the frequency peak in the 2000s. Accessed on 19 May, 2011.

    Spanish

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    Pronunciation

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    • IPA(key): /ˈema/ [ˈe.ma]
      • Rhymes: -ema
      • Syllabification: E‧mma
    • IPA(key): /ˈemma/ [ˈẽm.ma]
      • Rhymes: -emma
      • Syllabification: Em‧ma

    Proper noun

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    Emma f

    1. a female given name

    Swedish

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    Etymology

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    From German Emma. First recorded in Sweden in 1766.

    Pronunciation

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    Proper noun

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    Emma c (genitive Emmas)

    1. a female given name
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    References

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    • Roland Otterbjörk: Svenska förnamn, Almqvist & Wiksell 1996, →ISBN
    • [5] Statistiska centralbyrån and Sture Allén, Staffan Wåhlin, Förnamnsboken, Norstedts 1995, →ISBN: 69 488 females with the given name Emma living in Sweden on December 31st, 2010, with frequency peaks in the 19th century and in the 2000s. Accessed on 19 June 2011.

    Tagalog

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    Etymology

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      Borrowed from English Emma.

      Pronunciation

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      Proper noun

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      Emma (Baybayin spelling ᜁᜋ)

      1. a female given name from English

      Anagrams

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      Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Emma&oldid=93500580"