Esmeralda
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- ez-me-RAL-da
- Origin
- Spanish
- UK rank, 2025
- #929 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #373 for girls
Esmeralda is a girls' name of Spanish origin, meaning “emerald”. In 2025 it ranked 929th for girls in the UK (40 babies) and 373rd for girls in the US (823 babies).
What does Esmeralda mean?
Spanish
“emerald”
Spanish word for emerald; Esmeralda is the heroine of Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.
More on Wiktionary.
Is Esmeralda a girl's or a boy's name?
Esmeralda is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 40 girls in the UK and 823 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Esmeralda in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 929th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 40 about 1 in 7,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady up 10% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 40 girls in the UK were named Esmeralda, making it the 929th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,009th.
2025 had the most girls named Esmeralda of any year since it first appeared, in 1997.
Half of all the girls named Esmeralda in the UK since 1996 were born between 2014 and 2022, the years shaded on the chart below.
Among girls in 2025, it was 872nd in England and Wales.
Esmeralda in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 40 | #929 |
| 2024 | 30 | #1,176 |
| 2023 | 38 | #988 |
| 2022 | 38 | #974 |
| 2021 | 32 | #1,138 |
| 2020 | 36 | #1,009 |
| 2019 | 26 | #1,332 |
| 2018 | 36 | #1,050 |
| 2017 | 25 | #1,396 |
| 2016 | 20 | #1,653 |
| 2015 | 18 | #1,739 |
| 2014 | 15 | #1,976 |
| 2013 | 8 | #3,060 |
| 2012 | 15 | #2,005 |
| 2011 | 10 | #2,582 |
| 2010 | 7 | #3,308 |
| 2009 | 6 | #3,603 |
| 2008 | 6 | #3,589 |
| 2007 | 6 | #3,396 |
| 2006 | 4 | #4,357 |
| 2005 | 5 | #3,543 |
| 2004 | 7 | #2,669 |
| 2003 | 5 | #3,233 |
| 2002 | 5 | #3,047 |
| 2001 | 10 | #1,832 |
| 2000 | 10 | #1,792 |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 3 | #3,991 |
How popular is Esmeralda in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 373rd among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 823 about 1 in 2,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady up 7% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 823 girls in the US were named Esmeralda, making it the 373rd most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 394th. Its busiest year was 1998, with 2,477 girls. It first appears in the records in 1911.
Half of all the girls named Esmeralda in the US since 1880 were born between 1991 and 2010, the years shaded on the chart below.
Esmeralda in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 823 | #373 |
| 2024 | 894 | #350 |
| 2023 | 907 | #342 |
| 2022 | 854 | #371 |
| 2021 | 696 | #450 |
| 2020 | 790 | #394 |
| 2019 | 825 | #379 |
| 2018 | 832 | #377 |
| 2017 | 821 | #378 |
| 2016 | 869 | #377 |
| 2015 | 883 | #370 |
| 2014 | 867 | #377 |
| 2013 | 786 | #393 |
| 2012 | 882 | #360 |
| 2011 | 946 | #333 |
| 2010 | 1,168 | #283 |
| 2009 | 1,113 | #299 |
| 2008 | 1,340 | #256 |
| 2007 | 1,745 | #191 |
| 2006 | 1,538 | #223 |
| 2005 | 1,618 | #214 |
| 2004 | 1,613 | #212 |
| 2003 | 1,652 | #202 |
| 2002 | 1,598 | #205 |
| 2001 | 1,621 | #201 |
| 2000 | 1,641 | #195 |
| 1999 | 1,765 | #177 |
| 1998 | 2,477 | #133 |
| 1997 | 1,393 | #214 |
| 1996 | 768 | #360 |
| 1995 | 657 | #400 |
| 1994 | 688 | #375 |
| 1993 | 698 | #365 |
| 1992 | 630 | #403 |
| 1991 | 611 | #416 |
| 1990 | 601 | #422 |
| 1989 | 555 | #438 |
| 1988 | 475 | #479 |
| 1987 | 485 | #456 |
| 1986 | 465 | #463 |
| 1985 | 418 | #488 |
| 1984 | 392 | #503 |
| 1983 | 440 | #462 |
| 1982 | 518 | #424 |
| 1981 | 515 | #422 |
| 1980 | 520 | #420 |
| 1979 | 510 | #416 |
| 1978 | 477 | #425 |
| 1977 | 471 | #431 |
| 1976 | 480 | #419 |
| 1975 | 440 | #448 |
| 1974 | 389 | #461 |
| 1973 | 450 | #432 |
| 1972 | 261 | #609 |
| 1971 | 199 | #743 |
| 1970 | 221 | #704 |
| 1969 | 153 | #836 |
| 1968 | 159 | #794 |
| 1967 | 148 | #820 |
| 1966 | 176 | #742 |
| 1965 | 157 | #787 |
| 1964 | 174 | #784 |
| 1963 | 146 | #865 |
| 1962 | 163 | #820 |
| 1961 | 171 | #799 |
| 1960 | 168 | #789 |
| 1959 | 138 | #882 |
| 1958 | 131 | #891 |
| 1957 | 122 | #932 |
| 1956 | 98 | #1,033 |
| 1955 | 111 | #931 |
| 1954 | 121 | #864 |
| 1953 | 98 | #953 |
| 1952 | 112 | #869 |
| 1951 | 94 | #956 |
| 1950 | 67 | #1,122 |
| 1949 | 66 | #1,108 |
| 1948 | 54 | #1,237 |
| 1947 | 36 | #1,575 |
| 1946 | 38 | #1,418 |
| 1945 | 35 | #1,355 |
| 1944 | 27 | #1,577 |
| 1943 | 25 | #1,702 |
| 1942 | 24 | #1,705 |
| 1941 | 21 | #1,750 |
| 1940 | 10 | #2,736 |
| 1939 | 14 | #2,206 |
| 1938 | 13 | #2,340 |
| 1937 | 16 | #1,999 |
| 1936 | 8 | #3,101 |
| 1935 | 8 | #3,154 |
| 1934 | 16 | #2,002 |
| 1933 | 5 | #4,216 |
| 1932 | 8 | #3,272 |
| 1931 | 7 | #3,495 |
| 1930 | 17 | #2,022 |
| 1929 | 16 | #2,097 |
| 1928 | 11 | #2,766 |
| 1927 | 9 | #3,282 |
| 1926 | 14 | #2,473 |
| 1925 | 20 | #1,945 |
| 1924 | 8 | #3,663 |
| 1923 | 6 | #4,375 |
| 1922 | 0 | – |
| 1921 | 6 | #4,462 |
| 1920 | 7 | #3,955 |
| 1919 | 7 | #3,815 |
| 1918 | 9 | #3,243 |
| 1917 | 7 | #3,711 |
| 1916 | 0 | – |
| 1915 | 0 | – |
| 1914 | 0 | – |
| 1913 | 0 | – |
| 1912 | 0 | – |
| 1911 | 5 | #2,463 |
Nicknames for Esmeralda
- Esme 1,062 girls in the UK in 2025
Names like Esmeralda
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Eliana, Ariana, Athena, Elena, Fatima, Ariella, Aria, Lara, Liliana, Maria, Lucia, Alora
Names related to Esmeralda
More Spanish names
Santiago, Lola, Xavier, Amaya, Alaia, Diego, Rio, Cruz, Elian, Jesus, Ximena, Javier, Amayah, Reina, Cesar, Sierra
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, “Esmeralda: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/esmeralda, updated 20 October 2026.