# Esmeralda (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/esmeralda/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Spanish |
| Meaning | “emerald” |
| Pronunciation | /ɛzməˈɹɑːldə/, 4 syllables |
| Nicknames | Esme |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 51,751 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 180 / 51,571 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 446, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Spanish esmeralda (“emerald”), as first used in the novel Notre-Dame de Paris (1831) by Victor Hugo.

## What it means

Esmeralda is grouped under jewel.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 946 | 334 |
| 2012 | 882 | 360 |
| 2013 | 786 | 393 |
| 2014 | 867 | 377 |
| 2015 | 883 | 370 |
| 2016 | 869 | 377 |
| 2017 | 821 | 378 |
| 2018 | 832 | 377 |
| 2019 | 825 | 379 |
| 2020 | 790 | 394 |
| 2021 | 696 | 450 |
| 2022 | 854 | 371 |
| 2023 | 907 | 342 |
| 2024 | 894 | 350 |
| 2025 | 823 | 373 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 6 | 6,678 |
| 1989 | 7 | 6,436 |
| 1990 | 9 | 5,516 |
| 1991 | 6 | 7,564 |
| 1992 | 14 | 4,179 |
| 1993 | 6 | 7,954 |
| 1994 | 7 | 7,207 |
| 1995 | 6 | 8,124 |
| 1997 | 7 | 7,538 |
| 1998 | 7 | 7,840 |
| 1999 | 6 | 9,064 |
| 2000 | 5 | 10,928 |
| 2001 | 5 | 11,103 |
| 2003 | 8 | 8,076 |
| 2004 | 5 | 11,910 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 10 | 2,432 |
| 2012 | 15 | 1,893 |
| 2013 | 8 | 2,887 |
| 2014 | 13 | 2,058 |
| 2015 | 17 | 1,711 |
| 2016 | 20 | 1,571 |
| 2017 | 25 | 1,330 |
| 2018 | 35 | 1,013 |
| 2019 | 26 | 1,252 |
| 2020 | 32 | 1,044 |
| 2021 | 32 | 1,069 |
| 2022 | 38 | 910 |
| 2023 | 37 | 941 |
| 2024 | 26 | 1,262 |
| 2025 | 40 | 872 |

## In other languages

- French: Esméralda
- Greek: Εσμεράλδα
- Portuguese: Esmeralda
- Russian: Эсмеральда
- Spanish: Esmeralda

## People named Esmeralda

- Princess Marie-Esméralda, Lady Moncada, Belgian princess, youngest child of Leopold III of Belgium and Lilian, Princess of Réthy
- Esmeralda Pimentel, American Mexican  actress and model
- Esmeralda de Jesus Garcia, Brazilian sprinter, long and triple jumper
- Esmeralda Arboleda Cadavid, Colombian politician, suffragist
- Caro Emerald, Dutch female singer
- Clotilde Cerdà i Bosch, Catalan musician

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.