NameCensus.

UK boy's name

Emre

A masculine Turkish name meaning "leader" or "commander".

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.

Emre is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Emre popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #1132, with 25 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2005, with 63 births.

This profile covers 939 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NRS Scotland, 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 40% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.

We estimate that about 955 living people in the UK are called Emre. 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

  • Emre ranked #1132 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 25 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 2005, when 63 boys were registered as Emre.
  • Emre ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #733 in 2017.
  • About 955 living people in the UK are estimated to have Emre as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.

Latest rank (E&W)

#1132

2024

Births in 2024

25

Latest year

Peak year

2005

63 births

Estimated living

955

2026

Meaning

What does Emre mean?

The name Emre is of Turkish origin, derived from the Arabic name Amr, which means "life" or "to live." It is a name with a rich history and cultural significance in the Middle East and Central Asia.

The earliest recorded usage of the name Emre can be traced back to the 13th century, when it was borne by the famous Turkish poet and Sufi mystic, Yunus Emre. Born in the village of Sarıköy, near the city of Eskişehir in modern-day Turkey, Yunus Emre lived from around 1240 to 1320 and is regarded as one of the most influential figures in Turkish literature and Islamic mysticism.

Another notable figure in history who bore the name Emre was Emre Khoja, a 14th-century Sufi teacher and scholar from the Chagatai Khanate (modern-day Central Asia). He played a crucial role in spreading Islam and Sufi teachings throughout the region, and his mausoleum in Yarkand, Xinjiang, China, remains a significant pilgrimage site.

In the 15th century, Emre was the name of a Turkish prince and governor, Emre Bey, who ruled over the Anatolian beylik (principality) of Teke during the latter years of the Ottoman Empire's expansion.

Moving to more modern times, Emre Gönlüşen was a renowned Turkish novelist and playwright who lived from 1923 to 2009. His works explored themes of love, identity, and the human condition, and he is considered one of the most influential writers in contemporary Turkish literature.

Emre Arolat, born in 1963, is a celebrated Turkish architect known for his innovative and sustainable designs. His projects, such as the Sancaklar Mosque in Istanbul and the Yaşar University Building in Izmir, have garnered international acclaim and numerous awards.

These are just a few examples of notable figures throughout history who have borne the name Emre, a name that has maintained its cultural significance and popularity across generations in Turkey and the broader Middle Eastern region.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Emre over time

The chart below shows babies named Emre 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 Emre, the clearest high point is 2005. The latest England and Wales figure is 25 births in 2024, compared with 63 at the peak.

Babies born per year

Emre
016324763199620102024

Decades

Emre by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Emre 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 #1173 123 5
2010s #969 309 10
2000s #602 425 10
1990s #780 82 4

Geography

Where Emre is most common

The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Emre. 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.

Emre ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #733 in 2017.

Scotland
3

Across the UK

Emre in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland (NRS)

#733 in 2017

7 years of NRS records, 23 total registered

Notable bearers

Famous people named Emre

  • Emre Tezgel

    association football player

    Turkish-British association football player (born 2005)

    2005-

  • Emre Türkmen

    keyboardist

    Turkish-British keyboardist (born 1988)

    1988-

  • Emre Ramazanoğlu

    record producer; songwriter; drummer; session musician

    Turkish-British engineer

Related

Names similar to Emre

FAQ

Emre: questions and answers

How popular is the name Emre in the UK right now?

In 2024, Emre was ranked #1132 for boys in England and Wales, with 25 births registered.

When was Emre most popular?

The peak year on record was 2005, with 63 babies registered as Emre in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Emre?

A masculine Turkish name meaning "leader" or "commander".

How many people are called Emre in the UK?

A total of 939 babies have been registered as Emre across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 23 more in Scotland.

Where is Emre most common?

In the latest published local rankings, Emre ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #733 in 2017. 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.