Fun Facts About the Name Ember
- More than 23 thousand babies named Ember: U.S. records list 23,047 babies given the name Ember from 1880 through 2025. Even 425 boys received the name Ember - about 1 boy for every 53 girls.
What Does the Name Ember Mean?
Ember is an English word name. It comes directly from the noun ember, a small piece of coal or wood still glowing in a fire that has otherwise died down. The noun descends from Old English ǣmerge, a word for a glowing ember, which is related to Old Norse eimyrja and Old High German eimuria; the Germanic root carried the sense of hot ash or a live coal.
Because the name is a vocabulary word rather than a translation of an older personal name, its meaning is simply the ordinary meaning of the noun. It is not a form of the gemstone name Amber, which entered English through Old French ambre from Arabic ʿanbar. The similar-sounding word in the church calendar - Ember Days, the seasonal fasts - belongs to a separate Old English term, ymbren or ymbryne, probably meaning a circuit or recurrence, and is unrelated to the fire word.
Ember Name History & Origins
As a given name, Ember is a modern English coinage drawn straight from the common noun rather than from an inherited personal name. The word itself is old - Old English ǣmerge is recorded in that form, and the modern spelling developed in Middle English - but its use as a first name is recent, part of a late twentieth-century liking for English word names, especially those connected with fire, light, and nature.
It is recorded chiefly in the United States and other English-speaking countries, and it is given mostly to girls. Its appearance in fiction includes Ember McLain, a ghost character in the animated series Danny Phantom (2004), and Ember, the fire element in the Pixar film Elemental (2023); the title The City of Ember (2003) uses the word for a place, not a person. These are cultural associations, not the source of the name.
How Popular is the Name Ember?
Ember recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2024. Its best rank was #137 in 2024.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #154 | 1,952 | 0.1214% |
| 2024 | #137 | 2,172 | 0.1346% |
| 2023 | #169 | 1,703 | 0.1063% |
| 2022 | #159 | 1,833 | 0.1119% |
| 2021 | #163 | 1,774 | 0.1082% |
| 2020 | #187 | 1,537 | 0.0951% |
| 2019 | #195 | 1,541 | 0.0919% |
| 2018 | #208 | 1,474 | 0.0867% |
| 2017 | #289 | 1,122 | 0.0650% |
| 2016 | #320 | 1,020 | 0.0576% |
| 2015 | #366 | 902 | 0.0505% |
| 2014 | #431 | 741 | 0.0415% |
| 2013 | #560 | 522 | 0.0298% |
| 2012 | #577 | 508 | 0.0289% |
| 2011 | #669 | 424 | 0.0241% |
| 2010 | #824 | 326 | 0.0183% |
| 2009 | #882 | 311 | 0.0169% |
| 2008 | #1,251 | 201 | 0.0106% |
| 2007 | #1,146 | 224 | 0.0117% |
| 2006 | #1,329 | 176 | 0.0093% |
| 2005 | #1,356 | 160 | 0.0087% |
| 2004 | #1,437 | 143 | 0.0078% |
| 2003 | #1,528 | 127 | 0.0070% |
| 2002 | #1,825 | 98 | 0.0055% |
| 2001 | #1,924 | 90 | 0.0050% |
| 2000 | #2,289 | 68 | 0.0037% |
| 1999 | #1,965 | 80 | 0.0045% |
| 1998 | #1,851 | 83 | 0.0047% |
| 1997 | #1,949 | 74 | 0.0043% |
| 1996 | #2,023 | 69 | 0.0039% |
| 1995 | #2,372 | 55 | 0.0031% |
| 1994 | #2,219 | 60 | 0.0034% |
| 1993 | #2,424 | 52 | 0.0029% |
| 1992 | #2,583 | 48 | 0.0026% |
| 1991 | #2,566 | 48 | 0.0026% |
| 1990 | #2,157 | 60 | 0.0032% |
| 1989 | #2,082 | 60 | 0.0033% |
| 1988 | #1,509 | 90 | 0.0051% |
| 1987 | #2,503 | 41 | 0.0024% |
| 1986 | #2,995 | 31 | 0.0018% |
| 1985 | #3,107 | 29 | 0.0017% |
| 1984 | #2,058 | 49 | 0.0029% |
| 1983 | #2,365 | 40 | 0.0024% |
| 1982 | #2,336 | 42 | 0.0025% |
| 1981 | #2,208 | 46 | 0.0028% |
| 1980 | #2,665 | 35 | 0.0021% |
| 1979 | #2,029 | 50 | 0.0031% |
| 1978 | #1,995 | 48 | 0.0031% |
| 1977 | #2,471 | 35 | 0.0023% |
| 1976 | #2,305 | 36 | 0.0025% |
| 1975 | #2,575 | 30 | 0.0021% |
| 1974 | #3,467 | 19 | 0.0013% |
| 1973 | #3,150 | 21 | 0.0014% |
| 1972 | #4,148 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 1971 | #4,170 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1970 | #3,470 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 1969 | #4,509 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1968 | #4,286 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1967 | #5,120 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1966 | #5,423 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1964 | #3,568 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1963 | #6,893 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1961 | #4,646 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1960 | #5,898 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1954 | #5,333 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1953 | #5,926 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1952 | #5,090 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1946 | #3,761 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #3,266 | 36 | 0.0021% |
| 2024 | #3,168 | 38 | 0.0022% |
| 2023 | #2,964 | 42 | 0.0025% |
| 2022 | #3,291 | 36 | 0.0021% |
| 2021 | #2,387 | 57 | 0.0033% |
| 2020 | #3,357 | 33 | 0.0019% |
| 2019 | #3,924 | 27 | 0.0015% |
| 2018 | #4,265 | 24 | 0.0013% |
| 2017 | #4,020 | 26 | 0.0014% |
| 2016 | #4,363 | 23 | 0.0012% |
| 2015 | #5,359 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2014 | #7,719 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2013 | #8,312 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2012 | #6,091 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2011 | #8,272 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2010 | #6,799 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2006 | #11,058 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2005 | #10,489 | 6 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Ember Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are fine when in harmony but changeable when in discord, because many of your best qualities are then reversed. You are entertaining but may be impulsive. Freedom is a necessity, and you find it difficult to settle down. Your versatility results in many changes, and often brings travel. Your fine intellect is capable of high honors if applied seriously. You are capable of inspired thinking applied to material things. You can be restless, changeable, and very sexy. You have an eventful, exciting life. You are versatile and have the ability to learn easily.
You are very intuitive. You have a reservoir of inspired wisdom combined with inherited analytical ability, which could reward you through expressions of spiritual leadership, business analysis, marketing, artistic visions, and scientific research. Operating on spiritual side of your individuality can bring you to the great heights, and drop you off if you neglect your spiritual identity. You are always looking for an opportunity to investigate the unknown, to use and show your mental abilities, to find the purpose and meaning of life. You want to grow wise and to understand people and things. You need privacy to replenish your energy. You have a unique way of thinking, intuitive, reflective, absorbing.
✦ Ember's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Ember's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.