Esmeralda
The Spanish and Portuguese word for emerald, through Greek smaragdos. Victor Hugo gave it to a character in his novel about Notre-Dame, which spread it in Europe.
Esmeralda in 2025
Esmeralda was given to 823 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 773rd most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 4,028 babies born.
The history of Esmeralda
Esmeralda reached its highest point in 1998, when 2,484 babies were given the name, ranking 280th that year.
Across the 115 years of records since 1911, 51,751 babies have been named Esmeralda. Half of them were born before 2002, which places the name's centre of gravity with Generation Z.
Esmeralda by decade
| Decade | Babies named Esmeralda | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 28 | 4,006 |
| 1920s | 97 | 3,477 |
| 1930s | 112 | 3,526 |
| 1940s | 336 | 1,893 |
| 1950s | 1,092 | 1,483 |
| 1960s | 1,615 | 1,282 |
| 1970s | 3,925 | 759 |
| 1980s | 4,845 | 763 |
| 1990s | 10,356 | 280 |
| 2000s | 15,502 | 408 |
| 2010s | 8,879 | 579 |
| 2020s | 4,964 | 709 |
Where Esmeralda is heading
Esmeralda has fallen 7% over the past decade, from 883 babies in 2015 to 823 in 2025.
Names like Esmeralda
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Esmeralda.