Girl · #2,078 in 2026

Empress

Name: Popularity of the name Empress in U.S. births, 1880–2026
Creator: U.S. Social Security Administration
License: https://www.ssa.gov/foia/
Keywords: Empress, baby name, popularity, U.S., SSA, rankings

An emperor is the (male) ruler of an empire. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife, mother/grandmother, or a woman who rules in her own right and name. Emperors are generally recognised to be of the highest monarchic honour and rank, surpassing kings.

Current Rank

#2,078

Peak Rank

#1,423 (2019)

Total Babies

5-Yr Trend

-17%

1986

First Year

2026

Last Year

2019

Peak Year

#1423

Peak Rank

Total Count

Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Empress

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

The Story of Empress

Empress first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1986, with 5 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 2019, when 157 Empresss were born — ranking #1,423 that year. As of 2026, Empress ranks #2,078 for baby girls with 93 births, falling sharply (-17%). In total, more than 2K Empresss have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1980s through the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

Top 10

11-50

51-100

101-500

500+

No data

Names that sound like Empress

Phonetically similar names — useful when Empress is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Emperess
Impress
Embrace
Emprise
Empresa
Impres
Impressed
Oppress
Compress
Emperors
Impresser
Emburse

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Empress

What does the name Empress mean?

How popular is Empress in 2026?

In 2026, Empress ranks #2,078 among girls' names in the U.S., with 93 babies given the name that year.

When was Empress most popular?

Empress reached its peak popularity in 2019, ranking #1,423 that year with 157 babies given the name.

In which U.S. states is Empress most popular?

Empress has historically been most popular in Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Empress.

Is Empress a unisex name?

In U.S. Social Security records, Empress is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name.

What names go well with Empress?

Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Empress include Otis, Reola, Marne. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.

About the name Empress

Empress is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1986 and has accumulated 2K births in the dataset. Empress's peak popularity came in 2019 when it ranked #1,423. Use the chart and map above to compare Empress's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.