Ember
Ember was the 154th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 1,952 babies. Its best year was 2024, when it ranked 135th with 2,183 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 212 places. More babies were named Ember in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning ember (glowing coal) · English, Old English
Say it EM-ber /ˈɛmbər/
- Rank in 2025
- #154 girls, up 33 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 1,952girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20242,183 babies
- Total since 1880
- 23,072babies recorded
What does the name Ember mean?
Ember is the English word for a small glowing piece of coal or wood in a dying fire, used as a given name. Wikipedia describes it as a modern English name taken from that word. Wiktionary traces the word to Old English aemerge, and notes that the b was added later for ease of pronunciation. It is used mostly for girls in the US.
ǣmyrġe (Old English, “ember”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Embry.
See also: English names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Ember', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wiktionary, entry 'ember', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wikipedia, 'Ember (given name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
Ember popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 426 since 2005, 36 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #154 | 1,952 |
| 2020 | #187 | 1,539 |
| 2010 | #824 | 326 |
| 2000 | #2,289 | 68 |
| 1990 | #2,157 | 60 |
| 1980 | #2,664 | 35 |
| 1970 | #3,468 | 18 |
| 1960 | #5,900 | 6 |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Ember, counting every spelling?
Ember has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #179 for girls in 2025, against #154 on the official list, because Kaylani/Kailani/Keilani and Isabelle/Isabel/Izabel and Adalynn/Adalyn/Addalyn move ahead once their spellings are combined.
How many kids will share the name Ember?
1,952 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Ember (0.54 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Ember born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 4 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Ember.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Ember?
About 22,500 people born in the US named Ember are alive today, with a median age of 7; half are between 3 and 11. That makes Ember a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Ember by state
How common Ember was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Wyoming (10.1×), Alaska (6.4×), Montana (5.9×), South Dakota (4.2×), Idaho (3.6×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in New Jersey, Rhode Island, New York.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Ember: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Ember, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Ember · Sibling names for Ember
Questions about the name Ember
What does Ember mean?
Ember means “ember (glowing coal)” (English, Old English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Ember?
Ember was the 154th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 1,952 babies. Its best year was 2024, when it ranked 135th with 2,183 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 212 places. More babies were named Ember in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Ember a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Ember in the US.
Where is Ember most popular?
In 2021–2025, Ember was most common in Wyoming (11.73 per 1,000 girls), followed by Alaska and Montana.