Discover and Shortlist Your Perfect Baby Names!

Ema as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Ema

♡Add to my Name List

The baby name Ema is a Female name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈeɪmə/ (AY-mə) — common English,/ˈɛmə/ (EH-mə) — alternative/European,/e.ma/ (EH-ma) — Japanese/simple phonetic.

Ema is Germanic, Japanese, Slavic in Origin.

Gender: Female
Syllables: 2.0
Origin: Germanic, Japanese, Slavic
Pronunciation: /ˈeɪmə/ (AY-mə) — common English,/ˈɛmə/ (EH-mə) — alternative/European,/e.ma/ (EH-ma) — Japanese/simple phonetic

What is the meaning of the name Ema ?

The baby name Ema is a Female name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈeɪmə/ (AY-mə) — common English,/ˈɛmə/ (EH-mə) — alternative/European,/e.ma/ (EH-ma) — Japanese/simple phonetic.

Ema is Germanic, Japanese, Slavic in Origin.

Ema is an international streamlined form of Emma, from the Old Germanic root ermen/irmin, meaning “whole” or “universal.” The name spread across medieval Europe through royal and saintly bearers - such as Emma of Normandy and Saint Hemma (Emma) of Gurk - and was later revitalized in the 19th century through literature and renewed interest in medieval names. In many Slavic languages, including Croatian, Slovene, Czech, and Slovak, Ema became the standard spelling.

Today Ema ranks highly in Central and Southeastern Europe and also appears in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries as a simplified variant, while English and German largely prefer Emma. In Japanese, Ema is an independent feminine name whose meaning varies with the kanji (for example, 恵麻 “favor; hemp” or 絵麻 “picture; hemp”); it is distinct from the Shinto ema votive tablets. Related forms and diminutives include Emma, Hemma, Imma, Emmy/Emmi/Emmie, and Emanuela (with Ema used as a short form).

Ema has the following similar or variant Names

Famous people with the name Ema

Ema Horvath Actor · Born 1994 · United States Ema Horvath is an American actress best known for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. She has also appeared in the film Like.Share.Follow.

Ema – Popularity by country

Based on birth registration data from national statistics agencies.

Country Gender Year Rank Born of
Ireland Girls 2025 #1 — 874
ET 0 #6 1 246
FJ Girls 0 #8 2 583
KR Girls 0 #15 1 572
BF Girls 0 #17 1 315
BN 0 #29 4 2,297
NA 0 #33 1 2,537
HT Boys 0 #34 1 903
MV Girls 0 #34 2 2,021
TM Girls 0 #34 2 574
ID 0 #37 3 2,238
HN Girls 0 #38 1 884
BI Boys 0 #41 4 917
AZ 0 #42 2 706
GE 0 #42 3 997
MT 0 #43 1 1,767
HR Girls 0 #53 1,083 3,687
AL 0 #57 19 2,372
AZ Girls 0 #58 17 1,051
CY 0 #60 1 1,632
RS Girls 0 #64 81 1,651
LU 0 #65 2 2,830
SI Girls 0 #68 126 2,769
SI 0 #70 10 1,612
AO 0 #72 6 2,729
JP 0 #75 3 4,057
RS 0 #78 7 923
LT 0 #80 9 949
BG 0 #81 2 1,799
ID Girls 0 #81 18 3,319
AL Girls 0 #85 185 4,141
GE Girls 0 #87 18 1,564
MD Girls 0 #92 1 865
Switzerland Girls 2024 #94 42 1,786
AF Girls 0 #94 1 2,402
BN Girls 0 #94 13 5,459
HR 0 #99 96 2,081
TW 0 #99 5 4,523
SD 0 #102 1 2,130
QA 0 #105 2 7,011
LT Girls 0 #108 116 1,904
PH 0 #109 2 5,607
OM 0 #115 7 6,215
CZ Girls 0 #119 430 5,378
Norway Girls 2025 #120 7 453
KW 0 #121 1 5,216
CY Girls 0 #125 1 3,755
MU 0 #129 9 3,613
AZ Boys 0 #130 2 1,400
IQ 0 #131 3 3,533
ID Boys 0 #135 1 4,130
PA 0 #136 3 3,797
BN Boys 0 #137 3 6,332
JO 0 #138 3 2,158
MT Girls 0 #140 12 3,773
BW Girls 0 #148 4 4,216
LT Boys 0 #151 1 2,166
BW Boys 0 #152 3 4,685
AR 0 #156 31 2,915
PT Girls 0 #158 617 7,952
CZ 0 #159 27 3,154
AR Boys 0 #161 825 7,628
CR 0 #161 5 5,526
AO Girls 0 #162 48 4,575
Belgium Girls 2024 #167 19 424
LU Girls 0 #167 19 4,850
PR Girls 0 #167 1 3,171
UY 0 #167 11 2,477
Sweden Girls 2022 #168 12 1,568
BD Girls 0 #169 254 8,413
MY Girls 0 #169 2,084 24,821
BG Girls 0 #170 55 3,559
PR Boys 0 #171 8 2,508
AE 0 #181 7 10,220
BD 0 #191 37 5,992
IR 0 #194 36 4,221
IR Girls 0 #197 499 8,334
CL Girls 0 #200 2,102 14,098
DK 0 #205 2 5,198
PT 0 #205 42 4,161
MU Girls 0 #222 130 8,539
PS 0 #224 3 5,692
HU Girls 0 #225 1 3,308
AO Boys 0 #227 16 5,568
GR Girls 0 #230 13 6,293
JP Girls 0 #230 16 6,592
MO Boys 0 #233 2 5,842
TW Girls 0 #233 44 8,139
NA Girls 0 #234 4 7,146
MO Girls 0 #240 12 7,056
EC Boys 0 #244 3 3,322
GH 0 #247 2 5,396
HR Boys 0 #251 9 3,997
MY 0 #251 80 12,352
EC Girls 0 #252 7 3,650
NG 0 #252 13 5,926
UY Girls 0 #253 333 6,731
Canada Girls 2024 #260 26 2,795
France Girls 2021 #271 140 3,185
SA 0 #273 23 10,560
JM Girls 0 #278 1 7,507
SG 0 #278 5 11,010
IL 0 #281 2 6,291
UY Boys 0 #281 136 5,922
GT 0 #282 33 5,948
QA Girls 0 #285 32 15,378
KZ Boys 0 #294 3 6,578
SD Girls 0 #296 50 7,678
AL Boys 0 #299 5 5,122
CZ Boys 0 #300 6 6,530
JP Boys 0 #302 2 7,909
DK Girls 0 #304 13 7,429
JO Girls 0 #305 21 7,570
KZ Girls 0 #310 11 5,862
GH Girls 0 #315 10 6,973
CN Girls 0 #325 25 8,829
PE 0 #327 3 6,350
OM Girls 0 #328 69 15,987
AR Girls 0 #338 337 8,289
PL Boys 0 #339 2 6,459
BO 0 #340 42 6,868
PL Girls 0 #340 15 5,096
EG 0 #354 47 6,387
GH Boys 0 #354 8 8,138
BR 0 #356 5 5,969
HK 0 #356 2 8,483
PT Boys 0 #358 10 7,951
CL 0 #362 50 6,867
YE 0 #362 20 8,639
MU Boys 0 #367 3 8,477
Austria Girls 0 #374 47 1,885
BO Girls 0 #376 263 9,488
EG Girls 0 #376 1,010 14,742
PH Girls 0 #376 15 13,098
Finland Girls 0 #382 10 1,368
PA Girls 0 #384 99 9,861
JO Boys 0 #388 2 7,057
MX 0 #398 16 8,339
SD Boys 0 #408 38 10,523
GT Boys 0 #416 59 7,625
CR Boys 0 #427 61 10,188
GT Girls 0 #430 76 7,500
IQ Girls 0 #430 75 11,303
AE Girls 0 #435 119 20,968
KW Girls 0 #435 81 19,177
LY 0 #454 82 12,703
SG Girls 0 #466 121 18,916
PA Boys 0 #471 11 9,305
ZA 0 #473 2 14,421
CR Girls 0 #478 55 11,342
RU Girls 0 #480 19 11,913
PS Girls 0 #490 34 10,981
CM Boys 0 #495 56 12,054
CM Girls 0 #498 43 11,671
CO 0 #506 5 7,768
SA Girls 0 #515 455 25,931
BH 0 #523 31 17,937
RU Boys 0 #523 4 12,621
PS Boys 0 #530 19 10,655
IR Boys 0 #537 16 10,162
BD Boys 0 #547 30 10,045
HK Boys 0 #555 3 12,905
HK Girls 0 #560 56 16,104
MX Girls 0 #560 961 17,781
IT 0 #572 144 4,183
BO Boys 0 #574 19 9,244
IL Girls 0 #575 43 11,648
IL Boys 0 #590 18 10,983
IN Girls 0 #620 12 13,121
LB 0 #622 37 13,263
CL Boys 0 #628 38 13,390
CO Girls 0 #648 514 16,140
IQ Boys 0 #652 16 13,071
NG Girls 0 #664 124 15,093
PE Girls 0 #687 268 14,861
SY 0 #687 42 11,684
QA Boys 0 #698 10 18,093
IT Boys 0 #700 985 10,046
Finland Girls 2026 #704 35 3,895
MA 0 #721 444 20,986
SG Boys 0 #733 7 17,960
KW Boys 0 #757 13 18,755
Germany Girls 0 #772 67 4,949
TN 0 #774 56 13,765
IT Girls 0 #776 870 9,415
BR Boys 0 #780 6 12,213
United States Girls 2024 #781 136 8,487
EG Boys 0 #787 100 15,035
CO Boys 0 #822 99 15,656
Spain Girls 0 #826 158 5,561
MX Boys 0 #827 157 16,355
NG Boys 0 #827 125 16,906
BR Girls 0 #848 94 12,708
PE Boys 0 #858 21 14,506
NL Girls 0 #880 76 5,933
Spain Boys 0 #905 26 5,610
OM Boys 0 #912 7 17,948
NL Boys 0 #922 30 5,873
Germany Boys 0 #936 17 5,697
DZ 0 #997 180 20,130
MY Boys 0 #1,030 82 25,439
IN Boys 0 #1,036 4 16,750
AE Boys 0 #1,064 29 22,615
ZA Girls 0 #1,070 72 25,928
TR 0 #1,114 98 19,440
ZA Boys 0 #1,145 34 25,619
SA Boys 0 #1,558 57 28,008

Ema is popular in 98 countries — most recent births per country:

France
Canada
Switzerland
United States
Norway

Did we miss something about this name? Let us know!

People also ask about Ema

Ema is predominantly a girl's name.
Ema is a 2 syllable name, pronounced /ˈeɪmə/ (AY-mə) — common English,/ˈɛmə/ (EH-mə) — alternative/European,/e.ma/ (EH-ma) — Japanese/simple phonetic.
Common nicknames and spelling variations include Emma, Em, Emmy and Emme.
Across languages, Ema has these equivalents: Emma (English, German, French, Scandinavian), Irma (shares the Old German element 'ermen/irmin' meaning whole/universal).
Yes, very popular — Ema ranked #1 in Ireland in 2025, and appears in official birth registries across 10 countries.
Ema ranks highest in Ireland (#1 in 2025).
Ema's popularity is declining significantly. It moved from #186 in 2011 to #271 in 2021 in France.
Yes — 1 notable people named Ema are in our database, including Ema Horvath (Actor).