Girl · Old Hungarian (uncertain)
Emese
Say it: EH-meh-sheh
Meaning
The name of the legendary mother of Álmos, who in the chronicles dreamed of the turul bird; the meaning is uncertain, though some link it to an old word for 'mother' or 'nursing'.
Uncertainseveral explanations, none settled.
Known from the medieval chronicles' legend of the Árpád dynasty and revived as a given name in the 19th century.
Its wave through time
Rare in the records
In the United States
- 37 babies given this name since 1964
- At its height in 1974, about 1 in 293,500 girls
- Fewer than 5 babies a year in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
Famous bearers
- Emese, legendary mother of Álmos
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- Medieval European charters and records
- Well-known works of literature
- National birth statistics of European countries source
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.