How rare is the name Esmeralda?

50,748 people in the United States have the first name Esmeralda, about 1 in 5,952. It ranks #892 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

ESMERALDA

#892

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
50,748
About
1 in 5,952
This common or more
68.4%
Who bears it

Of the 50,748 people named Esmeralda, 95.7% reported their origin as Hispanic or Latino, 2.5% as White and 1% as Asian or Pacific Islander. Virtually all are female (99.7%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Esmeralda peaked in 1998, when 2,484 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
19112025
Peak year
1998
Births that year
2,484
In 2025*
823 ▼67%
Recorded as
almost entirely female

At least 51,751 babies have been given the name since 1911. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Esmeralda by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 2000s, when it ranked #441. The largest share of babies named Esmeralda, 46.7%, were born between 1997 and 2012, as Generation Z.

1910s#7,38928
1920s#5,44897
1930s#4,410112
1940s#2,543336
1950s#1,6041,092
1960s#1,3821,615
1970s#8843,925
1980s#8294,845
1990s#54410,356
2000s#44115,502
2010s#7358,879
2020s#7734,964
Greatest Generation 1901–270.2%
Silent Generation 1928–450.5%
Baby boom 1946–644.1%
Generation X 1965–8010.1%
Millennials 1981–9617.4%
Generation Z 1997–1246.7%
2013 and later21%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Esmeralda is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Esmeralda has been most common in Nevada (3.9×), California (3.5×), and Texas (3.4×), and least common in Louisiana (0.05×).

49,367 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Esmeralda

#890 Daryl · 50,922#891 Rodolfo · 50,870#893 Wade · 50,704#894 Tyrone · 50,642

Spelled almost the same

6 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Esmeralda, most common first.

#8,483 Esmerelda · 1,708#21,583 Esmeraldo · 469#37,262 Esmarelda · 210#40,999 Esmaralda · 180#41,535 Esmerlda · 176#53,039 Esmerald · 103

Also a last name

As a last name, Esmeralda ranks #58,307 of 156,621, with 376 people. See Esmeralda as a last name

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