Emma. This first name successful and modern could sometimes make us forget that it already existed in the Middle Ages, worn by many queens. Contrary to what one might think, it is not the diminutive of Emannuelle but a first name in its own right. Immortalized by Madame Bovary, it is worn by several famous actresses. Party on April 19.
Origin and etymology
Emma is a first name of uncertain origin, probably an alteration of Imma, diminutive of an old name with Germanic root built on the basis of ermin or irmin (huge, powerful), and which would also be the origin of the first name Irma. By deformation, it also gave rise to surnames, such as Emmet.
History and Saint Emma
Several queens bore this first name in the 10th century:Emma of France, wife of Raoul of Burgundy, Emma of Italy, wife of the Carolingian Lothair, Emma of Normandy, wife of two kings from England. Saint Emma, widow of a Rhenish count in the 11th century, devoted her fortune to the poor and to the construction of religious buildings, including two monasteries. It is celebrated by Catholics on April 19.
Famous Emma
It is the English who have acclaimed the name Emma since the Middle Ages. It was also the name given by Lady Hamilton, the mistress of a famous English admiral:Nelson. Painted by Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, her exceptional destiny has inspired numerous novels and films.
In France, this first name experienced a first peak in popularity in the 19th century, thanks to Emma Bovary, the heroine of Gustave Flaubert's novel, who caused a scandal when it was published. The fashion effect was such, at that time, that several Parisian actresses called themselves "Mlle Emma". It is therefore not surprising to find this first name today among film actresses:the English Emma Thompson and Emma Watson, the American Emma Stone, the French Emma de Caunes.
Popularity of the first name Emma
Since the end of the 20th century, the first name Emma ranks among the five first names for girls. In France, it has been awarded several thousand times each year to little girls since the new millennium, particularly in the north, in the Paris basin and in the southern Mediterranean.
To go further
- 2000 first names and their history, by Omer Englebert. Albin Michel, 2015.
- The Book of My Name - Emma. First, 2017.