Empress
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- EM-pres
- Origin
- English
- US rank, 2025
- #2,298 for girls
Empress is a girls' name of English origin, meaning “female ruler of an empire”. In 2025 it ranked 2,298th for girls in the US (79 babies).
What does Empress mean?
English: English word, via Old French from Latin imperatrix
“female ruler of an empire”
Is Empress a girl's or a boy's name?
Empress is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 79 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Empress in the UK?
No girls in the UK were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 2004, with 5 girls.
Empress in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 1 | #7,326 |
| 2019 | 5 | #4,214 |
| 2018 | 4 | #4,914 |
| 2017 | 0 | – |
| 2016 | 1 | #7,664 |
| 2015 | 0 | – |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 0 | – |
| 2011 | 5 | #4,244 |
| 2010 | 0 | – |
| 2009 | 0 | – |
| 2008 | 3 | #5,772 |
| 2007 | 3 | #5,415 |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 0 | – |
| 2004 | 5 | #3,356 |
How popular is Empress in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 2,298th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 79 about 1 in 20,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Falling down 27% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 79 girls in the US were named Empress, making it the 2,298th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,559th. Its busiest year was 2019, with 157 girls. It first appears in the records in 1986.
It has been given to fewer girls each year for the last 6 years. 2025 had fewer girls named Empress than any year since 2015.
Half of all the girls named Empress in the US since 1880 were born between 2012 and 2021, the years shaded on the chart below.
Empress in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 79 | #2,298 |
| 2024 | 97 | #2,011 |
| 2023 | 117 | #1,750 |
| 2022 | 120 | #1,731 |
| 2021 | 122 | #1,698 |
| 2020 | 135 | #1,559 |
| 2019 | 157 | #1,423 |
| 2018 | 107 | #1,878 |
| 2017 | 109 | #1,863 |
| 2016 | 97 | #2,033 |
| 2015 | 67 | #2,646 |
| 2014 | 53 | #3,110 |
| 2013 | 37 | #4,000 |
| 2012 | 38 | #3,987 |
| 2011 | 34 | #4,243 |
| 2010 | 35 | #4,179 |
| 2009 | 34 | #4,369 |
| 2008 | 37 | #4,178 |
| 2007 | 26 | #5,374 |
| 2006 | 24 | #5,544 |
| 2005 | 15 | #7,495 |
| 2004 | 14 | #7,823 |
| 2003 | 24 | #5,087 |
| 2002 | 21 | #5,440 |
| 2001 | 11 | #8,751 |
| 2000 | 24 | #4,786 |
| 1999 | 20 | #5,213 |
| 1998 | 13 | #7,099 |
| 1997 | 13 | #6,839 |
| 1996 | 10 | #8,127 |
| 1995 | 5 | #13,380 |
| 1994 | 15 | #5,978 |
| 1993 | 7 | #10,581 |
| 1992 | 5 | #13,308 |
| 1991 | 7 | #10,263 |
| 1990 | 14 | #6,125 |
| 1989 | 5 | #12,356 |
| 1988 | 0 | – |
| 1987 | 0 | – |
| 1986 | 5 | #10,907 |
Names like Empress
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Harper, Esme, Willow, Ellie, Evie, Poppy, Freya, Lily, Ember, Scarlett, Isla, Ivy
More English names
Evelyn, Hudson, Grace, Violet, Daisy, Riley, Oakley, Mason, Cooper, Ruby, Hallie, Hazel, Carter, Harrison, River, Frankie
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Empress: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/empress, updated 20 October 2026.