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| Gender | Female |
|---|---|
| Name day | April 19 |
| Origin | |
| Word/name | Ancient Germanic, Ancient Scandinavian, Old Norse, Italian, and Modern Scandinavian |
| Meaning | whole, universal |
| Other names | |
| Variant form(s) | Ema |
| Related names | Amalia, Amalie, Amelia, Amélie, Armgarð, Emeline, Emilia, Émilie, Emily, Emanuela, Emmalee, Emmaline, Emmeline, Emmett, Emmy, Em, Ermengarde, Ermentrude, Ermina, Erminie, Irma, Irmgard, Irmina |
Emma is a feminine given name. It is derived from the Germanic word ermen, meaning "whole" or "universal".[1] It likely originated as a short form of names such as Ermengarde or Ermentrude. Its earliest use begins at least from the early seventh century, with Frankish royal daughter Emma of Austrasia and the wife of Eadbald of Kent found in written sources. Its popularity in the medieval era increased because it was the name of Emma of Normandy, mother of Edward the Confessor. Emmeline is a Norman variant of Emma that was introduced to England by the Norman invaders in the 11th century. The name is etymologically unrelated to Amalia, Amelia, Emilia, and Emily, all of which are derived from other sources, but all of these names have been associated with each other due to their similarity in appearance and sound. Emma has been used as a short form of some of these names or shares diminutives such as Em or Emmy with them.[2]
- ^ Emma. Oxford References. January 2006. ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1. Retrieved 2023-09-28.
- ^ Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006). Oxford Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press. p. 13, 90-91. ISBN 0-19-861060-2.