How popular is the baby name Ema in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Ema.

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Popularity of the baby name Ema


Posts that mention the name Ema

Top baby names in Japan, 2024

Flag of Japan
Flag of Japan

This year, the island nation of Japan will likely welcome fewer than 700,000 babies for the first time in modern history.

What will the most popular names among this (relatively small) group of newborns be?

We’ll never know for sure, because Japan doesn’t release official baby name rankings. But the country’s top names of 2024 could include Rin and Tsumugi for girls, and Ao and Haruto for boys.

How do we know this?

Because, every year, two Japanese companies — the Benesse Corporation and the Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company — come up with unofficial baby name rankings for Japan using their own data (i.e., the names of the newborns of their own customers/clients). Both companies rank names in two ways: as they’re written, and as they’re said aloud (because so many Japanese names have more than one possible pronunciation).

  • Benesse’s 2024 rankings account for 263,885 babies born in Japan from January to September, 2024.
  • Meiji Yasuda’s 2024 rankings account for 14,325 babies born in Japan from January to September, 2024.

Girl names

Here are Japan’s top girls names as written, according to both companies:

Top baby names for girls in Japan, 2024

The top three girl names on Benesse’s list are commonly read Rin (meaning “cold” or “dignified”), Himari/Hinata (a combination of two kanji characters meaning “sun” and “hollyhock“), and Sui (meaning “green” or “verdant”). The top girl name on Meiji Yasuda’s list is commonly read Tsumugi (meaning “pongee“).

And here are Japan’s top girl-name readings, according to both companies:

Top baby name readings for girls in Japan, 2024

The top three readings on Benesse’s list are Sana, Ema, and Mei, while the top three on Meiji Yasuda’s list are Tsumugi, Ema, and Sana.

Boy names

Here are Japan’s top boy names as written, according to both companies:

Top baby names for boy in Japan, 2024

The top three boy names on Benesse’s list are commonly read Ao/Aoi (meaning “blue-green”), Ren (meaning “lotus”), and Nagi (meaning “calm”). The top name on Meiji Yasuda’s list is commonly read Haruto/Hinato (a combination of two kanji characters meaning “sun” and “soar”).

And here are Japan’s top boy-name readings, according to both companies:

Top baby name readings for boys in Japan, 2024

Notably, Benesse and Meiji Yasuda are in agreement on the top three: Haruto, Minato, and Riku.

Benesse’s data reveals the name Ran (meaning “indigo”) has seen a significant increase in usage among babies of both genders, likely because of (male) Olympic volleyball player Ran Takahashi.

The Japanese name Ran
Ran

And Meiji Yasuda’s data indicates that the most popular kanji character used in boy names (for the fourth consecutive year) is sho, no doubt thanks to the ongoing success of professional baseball player Shohei “Shotime” Otani.

The kanji character "sho"
Sho

Finally, here’s a link to Japan’s unofficial 2023 rankings, if you’d like to compare this year to last year.

Sources

Image: Adapted from Flag of Japan (public domain)

Popular baby names in Slovenia, 2023

Flag of Slovenia
Flag of Slovenia

Last year, the Central European country of Slovenia (not to be confused with the Central European country of Slovakia) welcomed 16,989 babies: 8,312 girls and 8,677 boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Ema and Luka.

Here are Slovenia’s top 50+ girl names and top 50 boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Ema, 180 baby girls
  2. Hana, 179
  3. Zala, 177
  4. Mia, 156
  5. Julija, 147
  6. Sofija, 144
  7. Ela, 134
  8. Ajda, 125 – means “buckwheat” in Slovene.
  9. Vita, 123
  10. Mila, 118
  11. Lina, 117
  12. Eva, 114
  13. Lana, 113
  14. Zoja, 109
  15. Lara, 103
  16. Neža, 99 (tie)
  17. Nika, 99 (tie)
  18. Maša, 96
  19. Ana, 95
  20. Sofia, 92
  21. Sara, 91
  22. Zarja, 86
  23. Gaja, 81
  24. Iva, 79
  25. Brina, 77
  26. Pika, 74 – means “dot” in Slovene. In Slovenia, Pippi Longstocking’s first name is Pika.
  27. Klara, 69
  28. Lucija, 67
  29. Lia, 61
  30. Lili, 58
  31. Alina, 57 (tie)
  32. Ula, 57 (tie)
  33. Tinkara, 55
  34. Olivija, 51 (3-way tie)
  35. Ota, 51 (3-way tie)
  36. Tara, 51 (3-way tie)
  37. Olivia, 48
  38. Aurora, 47 (4-way tie)
  39. Iza, 47 (4-way tie)
  40. Maja, 47 (4-way tie)
  41. Zara, 47 (4-way tie)
  42. Naja, 46
  43. Asja, 45
  44. Kaja, 44
  45. Nina, 43
  46. Elena, 42 (tie)
  47. Manca, 42 (tie)
  48. Ava, 41
  49. Živa, 40
  50. Aria, 38 (tie)
  51. Mija, 38 (tie)

Boy names

  1. Luka, 198 baby boys
  2. Nik, 195
  3. Filip, 185
  4. Jakob, 175
  5. Mark, 173
  6. Lovro, 145
  7. Liam, 134
  8. Tim, 132
  9. Lan, 129 (tie)
  10. Oskar, 129 (tie)
  11. Oliver, 124
  12. Maj, 114
  13. Maks, 101 (tie)
  14. Žan, 101 (tie)
  15. Teo, 100
  16. Jan, 94
  17. Vid, 92
  18. Gal, 89
  19. Bine, 84
  20. Jaka, 80
  21. Leo, 77
  22. David, 75 (tie)
  23. Nace, 75 (tie)
  24. Leon, 74
  25. Izak, 71
  26. Aleks, 69
  27. Brin, 67
  28. Anže, 59 (3-way tie)
  29. Val, 59 (3-way tie)
  30. Vito, 59 (3-way tie)
  31. Lukas, 58
  32. Adam, 54 (3-way tie)
  33. Tine, 54 (3-way tie)
  34. Žiga, 54 (3-way tie)
  35. Anej, 53
  36. Svit, 50 – means “dawn” in Slovene.
  37. Nejc, 49
  38. Bor, 48 (4-way tie) – means “pine tree” in Slovene. It’s also a short form of bor- names, like Boris.
  39. Erik, 48 (4-way tie)
  40. Mateo, 48 (4-way tie)
  41. Matic, 48 (4-way tie)
  42. Aleksej, 47 (tie)
  43. Jon, 47 (tie)
  44. Lenart, 46 (tie)
  45. Matija, 46 (tie)
  46. Lev, 44
  47. Benjamin, 42
  48. Erazem, 41
  49. Tian, 40
  50. Teodor, 39

The girls’ top 100 included Loti (60th), Nuša (86th), Nikolina (90th), and Inja (94th).

The boys’ top 100 included Ožbej (70th), Tilen (73rd), Nai (95th), and the vowelless Crt (97th) — though that “C” should have a caron (which signifies a ch sound).

I didn’t post about Slovenia’s top baby names of 2022, but here are Slovenia’s 2021 rankings.

Sources: Top 100 baby names in 2023 – Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia, Births, 2023 – Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia, Behind the Name

Image: Adapted from Flag of Slovenia (public domain)

Popular baby names in Slovakia, 2023

Flag of Slovakia
Flag of Slovakia

The top baby names in Slovakia during the first eleven and a half months of 2023 were Sofia and Jakub, according to the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic.

Here are the country’s top 20 girl names and top 20 boy names of 2023 (from January 1 to December 14):

Girl names

  1. Sofia, 615 baby girls
  2. Eliška, 555
  3. Viktória, 534
  4. Nina, 512
  5. Natália, 498
  6. Ema, 496
  7. Sára, 492
  8. Nela, 423
  9. Olívia, 400
  10. Mia, 379
  11. Hana, 373
  12. Diana, 355
  13. Laura, 340
  14. Tamara, 335
  15. Anna, 331
  16. Emma, 314
  17. Timea, 296
  18. Karolína, 285
  19. Júlia, 283
  20. Kristína, 270

Boy names

  1. Jakub, 914 baby boys
  2. Samuel, 798
  3. Adam, 792
  4. Šimon, 742
  5. Michal, 682
  6. Oliver, 663
  7. Tomáš, 602
  8. Filip, 521
  9. Matej, 501
  10. Martin, 483
  11. Tobias, 471
  12. Lukáš, 460
  13. Matúš, 445
  14. Alex, 440
  15. Dominik, 433
  16. Richard, 414
  17. Peter, 412
  18. Dávid, 390
  19. Patrik , 386
  20. Matias, 369

Since 2010, the top two names in Slovakia have predominantly been Sofia and Jakub. (Adam reached the top spot for boys in 2014 and 2015; Ema and Nina reached the top spot for girls in 2020 and 2021, respectively.)

From 2003 to 2009, the top two names were Viktória and Samuel.

Finally, here are Slovakia’s 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Source: Najpopulárnejšími menami novorodencov v roku 2023 boli opät’ Sofia a Jakub – Ministerstvo vnútra SR

Image: Adapted from Flag of Slovakia (public domain)

Top baby names in Japan, 2023

Flag of Japan
Flag of Japan

The East Asian island nation of Japan, the 11th most populous country in the world, is currently experiencing population decline due to a low birth rate. Last year, Japan welcomed just 770,747 babies. This year, the count will likely be even lower.

Japan doesn’t release official baby name rankings, but the most popular names in the country right now include Himari and Ema for girls, and Ao and Haruto for boys.

How do we know this?

Because, every year, two Japanese companies — Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company and Benesse Corporation — come up with unofficial baby name rankings for Japan using their own data (i.e., the names of the newborns of their own customers/clients).

  • Meiji Yasuda Life’s 2023 rankings account for 6,951 baby girls and 6,957 baby boys born in Japan from January to September, 2023.
  • Benesse’s 2023 rankings account for 141,857 baby girls and 143,259 baby boys born in Japan from January 1 to September 27, 2023.

Each company releases two sets of rankings, in fact.

Why two? Because Japanese names, written using kanji (Chinese characters), are notoriously difficult to read; many have multiple potential pronunciations. So the companies rank baby names both as they’re written and as they’re said aloud (“readings”).

Below you’ll find a whopping eight sets of rankings. They account for two genders, two sources, and two ways of judging popularity: written vs. readings. (I had to turn the rankings into images because my blogging software can’t handle Chinese and Japanese characters.)

Girl names (written)

According to Meiji Yasuda Life, these are Japan’s top girl names. Common readings are in parentheses.

Japan's top baby girl names of 2023, according to Meiji Yasuda Life

[The readings are: Himari, Hinata, Hina; Rin; Tsumugi; Yua, Yuna; Yuina, Yuna; Mio; Mei; Koharu; Hina, Haruna; Ema; Sui, Midori; Yuzuki; Ai, Mana; and Iroha.]

According to Benesse, these are Japan’s top girl names. Benesse also offered each name’s most common reading (transcription in parentheses).

Japan's top baby girl names of 2023, according to Benesse

[The readings are: Himari, Rin, Sui, Tsumugi, Yuina, Hina, Mei, Aoi, Yua, and Riko.]

Girl names (readings)

According to Meiji Yasuda Life, these are Japan’s top girl-name readings:

Japan's top baby girl name readings of 2023, according to Meiji Yasuda Life

[The readings are: Ema, Tsumugi, Mio, Sana, Mei, Koharu, Rio, Ichika, Himari, and Rin.]

According to Benesse, these are Japan’s top girl-name readings:

Japan's top baby girl name readings of 2023, according to Benesse

[The readings are: Ema, Tsumugi, Sana, Mio, Mei, Koharu, Rio, Yui, Aoi, and Himari.]

Boy names (written)

According to Meiji Yasuda Life, these are Japan’s top boy names. Common readings are in parentheses.

Japan's top baby boy names of 2023, according to Meiji Yasuda Life

[The readings are: Ao, Aoi; Haruto, Hinato; Dan, Haru; Ritsu; Aoi, So, Ao; Soma, Fuma; Ren; Nagi, Nagisa; Minato; and Minato.]

According to Benesse, these are Japan’s top boy names. Benesse also offered each name’s most common reading (transcription in parentheses).

Japan's top baby boy names of 2023, according to Benesse

[The readings are: Ren, Ao, Haruto, Minato, Aoi, Asahi, Nagi, Minato, Dan, and Ritsu.]

Boy names (readings)

According to Meiji Yasuda Life, these are Japan’s top boy-name readings:

Japan's top baby boy name readings of 2023, according to Meiji Yasuda Life

[The readings are: Haruto, Minato, Yuito, Aoto, Riku, Sota, Sora, Aoi, So, and Haruki.]

According to Benesse, these are Japan’s top boy-name readings:

Japan's top baby boy name readings of 2023, according to Benesse

[The readings are: Haruto, Minato, Aoto, Riku, Yuito, Sota, Haruki, Sora, Hinata, and Aoi.]

The boy names Ao and Ritsu were given a boost in 2023 by soccer players Ao Tanaka and Ritsu Doan, both of whom helped Japan’s national football team advance during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

The names Tsumugi (female), Minato (male), and So/Sou (male) also rose in the rankings. They correspond to the names of characters on the popular drama/romance series Silent, which aired in Japan from October to December, 2022.

Finally, here’s a link to Japan’s unofficial 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare this year to last year.

P.S. Though none of the names above would be considered kira-kira names — that is, names with highly unorthodox readings — an increasing number of Japanese babies have been given kira-kira names over the last few decades. (Two examples are Girisha and Torino, bestowed by Japanese athlete/politician Seiko Hashimoto in the early 2000s.) Japan recently decided to crack down on the usage of kira-kira names: a law change “will limit readings of the kanji in children’s names to those ‘generally recognizable by society.'”

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Japan (public domain)