Emmer

♀ Girl

How to Pronounce Emmer

Pronounced EM-er /ˈɛm.ər/High

Meaning: Emmer is an old-fashioned pet form of Emma (or sometimes Emily), the Germanic name from ermen, 'whole, universal.' Common in rural America around 1900, Emmer put an affectionate short sound on the birth register in the era when such diminutives stood as full given names.Low

In 30 seconds: Emmer is a turn-of-the-century pet form of Emma, from Germanic 'whole, universal.' It peaked around 1926 and is deeply antique now.

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Origin LowEnglish, Germanic

MeaningEmmer is an old-fashioned pet form of Emma (or sometimes Emily), the Germanic name from ermen, 'whole, universal.' Common in rural America around 1900, Emmer put an affectionate short sound on the birth register in the era when such diminutives stood as full given names.

U.S. rank (1963)#6898 ↘ Falling

1963 U.S. births5 girls (0.00% of U.S. girls)

Peak year1926

Total births (all-time)≈ 2,155

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Emmer is a vintage American pet form of Emma, whose Germanic root ermen means 'whole' or 'universal.' In the decades around 1900, families routinely registered such affectionate short forms as legal names, and Emmer was one of them.

Emmer crested around 1926 at roughly seventy girls a year and had faded to rarity by mid-century, with a total in the low thousands across its run. A woman named Emmer at the peak would be nearing a hundred today. It has not joined the Emma-and-Ada vintage revival, though it shares that world.

Did you know? The name overlaps by chance with emmer, an ancient variety of wheat — but as a personal name it is simply a homey diminutive of Emma, worn in full by a great-grandmother's generation.

Overall data confidence 53%

References — Emmer — Vintage pet form of Emma (Germanic 'whole/universal'); 1920s peak

Variations

EmmaEmmieEmmaline

Nicknames

EmEmmie

Famous Bearers

Famous bearers coming soon.

If you like Emmer…

Emma— the parent name Emmer shortens

Emmie— a like -ie pet form of Emma

Esther— a same-era turn-of-century vintage name

Ada— a comparably antique short girls' name

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Emmer mean?

Emmer is a pet form of Emma, from the Germanic for 'whole' or 'universal'; it inherits that meaning.

How do you pronounce Emmer?

It's said EM-er /ˈɛm.ər/ — two syllables, stress on the first.

Is Emmer a boy or girl name?

Emmer was used as a girl's name, historically as a short form of Emma.

How popular is Emmer?

Emmer was an uncommon rural favorite that crested in the nineteen-twenties and has been antique ever since.