Esmeralda
Esmeralda is a feminine given name of Portuguese and Spanish origin meaning emerald. The name was used for a Roma character in The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, an 1831 novel by Victor Hugo that has been dramatized on film and screen and also brought the name to the attention of people in the English-speaking world. Esméralda is a French version of the name.
Meaning & Origin of Esmeralda
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Esmeralda is a feminine given name of Portuguese and Spanish origin meaning emerald. The name was used for a Roma character in The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, an 1831 novel by Victor Hugo that has been dramatized on film and screen and also brought the name to the attention of people in the English-speaking world. Esméralda is a French version of the name.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
The Story of Esmeralda
Esmeralda first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1911, with 5 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1998, when 2,477 Esmeraldas were born — ranking #133 that year. As of 2026, Esmeralda ranks #331 for baby girls with 940 births, gradually rising (+14%). In total, more than 53K Esmeraldas have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1910s through the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Notable people named Esmeralda
A small selection from Wikipedia. Tap "Read more" below to see the full list on Wikipedia.
- Princess Marie-Esméralda of Belgium (Esméralda de Réthy, born 1956), Belgian royalty
- Esmeralda Calabria (born 1964), Italian producer, screenwriter
- Esmeralda Cervantes (1861–1926), Spanish harpist
- Esmeralda Devlin (born 1971), British stage and costume designer
- Esmeralda de Jesus Garcia (born 1959), Brazilian track and field athlete
- Esmeralda Mallada (born 1937), Uruguayan astronomer and professor
- Esmeralda Mitre (born 1982), Argentine actress
- Esmeralda Moya (born 1985), Spanish actress
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Names that sound like Esmeralda
Phonetically similar names — useful when Esmeralda is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Esmeralda
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About the name Esmeralda
Esmeralda is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1911 and has accumulated 53K births in the dataset. Esmeralda's peak popularity came in 1998 when it ranked #133. Use the chart and map above to compare Esmeralda's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
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- Top names of 2026 →
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.