Emmett
Meaning of Emmett
Emmett is an English name, most often explained as a medieval diminutive of Emma, the feminine name built on a Germanic root meaning "whole" or "universal." Some dictionaries instead connect it to the Old English word for "ant," supposedly a nickname for a busy, industrious person, so the meaning is not fully settled. It is pronounced EM-it in both American and British English, and the spelling Emmet also appears.
Its most widely known modern association is Emmett Till, the fourteen-year-old whose lynching in Mississippi in 1955 helped galvanize the civil rights movement. Earlier generations knew the name through Emmett Kelly, the American circus performer whose hobo clown Weary Willie was a fixture of mid-century ringsides.
Emmett has risen sharply in the American rankings. In 1985 it sat at 995th place, and as recently as 2008 it was given to only 479 babies. It then climbed steeply, reaching 3,555 births and 107th place in 2019, and peaked at 103rd in 2021. In 2025 it ranked 121st, with 2,950 babies, still well above its levels through the 1980s and 1990s.
Pronunciation
American English
- Pronunced as EM-it (/ˈɛmɪt/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
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Notable People Named Emmett
| Emmett Till, a 14 year old African American, was lynched in Mississippi in 1955, and his death helped galvanize the civil rights movement. |
| Emmett Leo Kelly was an American circus performer who created the hobo clown Weary Willie in the 1930s. |
| Emmett Chappelle - Emmett W. Chappelle was an American scientist and bioluminescence pioneer whose work in medicine, food science, and astrochemistry earned a 2007 National Inventors Hall of Fame induction and honors as a leading African American scientist of the 20th century. |
| Emmett O'Donnell Jr. - Emmett E. Rosie O'Donnell Jr. was a US Air Force general who led the first B 29 raid on Tokyo in World War II and commanded Pacific Air Forces from 1959 to 1963. |
| Emmett Littleton Ashford nicknamed Ash was the first African American umpire in Major League Baseball and served in the American League from 1966 to 1970. |
| Emmett Kelly is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known as the creative force behind The Cairo Gang, one half of The Double with Jim White, one third of The CIA, and a founding member of Clinamen. |
| Emmett Kelly Jr. - Emmett Leo Kelly Jr. was an American clown and the son of legendary Emmett Kelly Sr., whose famous style he adopted. |
| Emmett Dalton was an American outlaw and Dalton Gang train robber who survived the 1892 Coffeyville raid, served 14 years in prison before a pardon, and later became a writer and actor with film adaptations of his stories. |
| Emmett Wigglesworth is a Philadelphia born muralist and civil rights activist based in New York since 1958, known for abstract, colorful murals inspired by his cultural heritage and life. |
| Emmett Jones is an American football coach now serving as wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator at the University of Oklahoma after earlier stints coaching receivers at Kansas and Texas Tech. |
| Emmett Marshall Owen was an American politician who also worked as an educator, farmer, and lawyer. |
| Emmett Miller was an American minstrel show performer and recording artist whose falsetto yodel influenced country stars and bridged Southern roots music, jazz, and Western swing. |
| American actor Charles Emmett Vogan appeared in nearly 500 films between 1934 and 1954 making him one of the most prolific of all time. |
| Emmett Norman Leith was a University of Michigan electrical engineering professor who helped invent three dimensional holography with Juris Upatnieks. |
