UK boy's name
Emmett
A masculine given name of Germanic origin meaning "universal" or "entire".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Emmett is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Emmett popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #622, with 61 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2018, with 65 births.
This profile covers 766 England and Wales registrations across 26 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, NRS Scotland and NISRA Northern Ireland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 94% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 1,020 living people in the UK are called Emmett. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Emmett ranked #622 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 61 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2018, when 65 boys were registered as Emmett.
- • Emmett ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #339 in 2024.
- • About 1,020 living people in the UK are estimated to have Emmett as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#622
2024
Births in 2024
61
Latest year
Peak year
2018
65 births
Estimated living
1,020
2026
Meaning
What does Emmett mean?
The name Emmett is derived from the Germanic root "amat", which means "truth" or "strength". It is believed to have originated as a surname in England and France during the Middle Ages, possibly stemming from the Old French name "Amaury".
In the 13th century, the name Emmett appeared in English and French records as a variant spelling of the name Amaury or Emery. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Emmett was in 1273, when an Emmett de Rovecestre was mentioned in the Oxfordshire Hundred Rolls of England.
The name Emmett gained popularity in the United States during the 19th century. One notable bearer of the name was Emmett Till, an African American teenager whose brutal lynching in 1955 became a pivotal event in the American Civil Rights Movement. Till's tragic death helped to galvanize support for the cause and brought national attention to the issues of racism and violence against African Americans.
Another famous Emmett was Emmett Kelly Sr., an American circus performer and clown who popularized the "weary hobo" clown character in the early 20th century. Kelly was born in 1898 and performed with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for many years, becoming one of the most famous clowns of his time.
In literature, Emmett Wilson is a character in the novel "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain, published in 1884. Wilson is a young boy who befriends Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, and joins them on their adventures along the Mississippi River.
The name Emmett has also been associated with several notable figures in the field of science and technology. Emmett Leith, born in 1927, was an American physicist and electrical engineer who made significant contributions to the development of holography and optical information processing.
Emmett Chappelle, born in 1925, was an American biochemist and astrobiologist who worked for NASA and developed techniques for detecting life on other planets. His work was instrumental in the search for extraterrestrial life and the exploration of Mars.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Emmett over time
The chart below shows babies named Emmett registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Emmett, the clearest high point is 2018. The latest England and Wales figure is 61 births in 2024, compared with 65 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Emmett by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Emmett was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #615 | 297 | 5 |
| 2010s | #900 | 418 | 10 |
| 2000s | #3124 | 40 | 9 |
| 1990s | #1935 | 11 | 2 |
Geography
Where Emmett is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Emmett. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Emmett ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #339 in 2024.
Across the UK
Emmett in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#727 in 2024
11 years of NRS records, 42 total registered
Northern Ireland (NISRA)
#339 in 2024
28 years of NISRA records, 218 total registered
Related
Names similar to Emmett
- Ethan 77,394
- Edward 53,212
- Elliot 23,450
- Elijah 22,369
- Ellis 19,358
- Elliott 16,964
- Evan 14,535
- Ezra 11,838
- Ewan 10,685
- Eli 8,126
- Elias 7,049
- Eric 6,654
FAQ
Emmett: questions and answers
How popular is the name Emmett in the UK right now?
In 2024, Emmett was ranked #622 for boys in England and Wales, with 61 births registered.
When was Emmett most popular?
The peak year on record was 2018, with 65 babies registered as Emmett in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Emmett?
A masculine given name of Germanic origin meaning "universal" or "entire".
How many people are called Emmett in the UK?
A total of 766 babies have been registered as Emmett across the 26 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 42 more in Scotland and 218 in Northern Ireland.
Where is Emmett most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Emmett ranks best in Northern Ireland, where it placed #339 in 2024. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.