Baby Names US
girls' name ★ peaked 2019

Empress

Gender Girl Rank 2025 #2,304 Trend ↓ Falling 24%
Rank 2025
#2,304
among girls · ↓287 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
79
named Empress · -19% vs 2024
How common
1 in 20,345
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2019
157 babies
All-time total
1,753
#5,146 all-time among girls
First recorded
1986
in Social Security records

Empress popularity over time

1,753 babies have been named Empress since 1986, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.030.050.080.118801900192019401960198020002020Peak 2019Girls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – –
1890s – – – –
1900s – – – –
1910s – – – –
1920s – – – –
1930s – – – –
1940s – – – –
1950s – – – –
1960s – – – –
1970s – – – –
1980s 10 1 – #11,479
1990s 109 11 +990% #5,290
2000s 230 23 +111% #4,209
2010s 734 73 +219% #1,424
2020s (to 2025) 670 112 +52% #1,564

Where Empress is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 76 0.05 outside top 500
2027 73 0.05 outside top 500
2028 70 0.04 outside top 500
2029 69 0.04 outside top 500
2030 67 0.04 outside top 500

Where Empress is most popular

Girls named Empress per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.066 per 1,000. Strongest in Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Empress born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Georgia 60 0.264 +301%
North Carolina 37 0.163 +146%
Florida 63 0.147 +123%
South Carolina 13 0.145 +119%
Virginia 17 0.100 +51%
New York 34 0.086 +30%
Texas 48 0.060 -9%
Louisiana 5 0.057 -13%
Maryland 6 0.057 -14%
Ohio 11 0.046 -30%
Tennessee 6 0.038 -43%
California 21 0.025 -62%
Illinois 5 0.022 -67%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maine – – –
Michigan – – –
Minnesota – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Pennsylvania – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
Wisconsin – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Empress

Empress is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #2,304 in 2025 with 79 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1986, 1,753 American babies have been named Empress. Its peak came in 2019, when 157 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Empress stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Empress?

The median living Empress is about 7 years old; half are between 4 and 13. An estimated 1,700 people named Empress are alive in the United States today.

median 7 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Empress year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank
2025 79 #2,304
2024 97 #2,017
2023 117 #1,753
2022 120 #1,735
2021 122 #1,700
2020 135 #1,564
2019 157 #1,424
2018 107 #1,880
2017 109 #1,865
2016 97 #2,040
2015 67 #2,660
2014 53 #3,121
2013 37 #4,027
2012 38 #4,009
2011 34 #4,281
2010 35 #4,225
2009 34 #4,400
2008 37 #4,209
2007 26 #5,420
2006 24 #5,595
2005 15 #7,628
2004 14 #7,961
2003 24 #5,133
2002 21 #5,522
2001 11 #8,944
2000 24 #4,839
1995 5 #14,121
1990 14 #6,232
1985 – –
1980 – –
1975 – –
1970 – –
1965 – –
1960 – –
1955 – –
1950 – –
1945 – –
1940 – –
1935 – –
1930 – –
1925 – –
1920 – –
1915 – –
1910 – –
1905 – –
1900 – –
1895 – –
1890 – –
1885 – –
1880 – –

Famous people named Empress

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Empress Elisabeth of Austria Empress Elisabeth of Austria Habsburg consort from 1854 to 1898 1837–1898 · 19th century
  2. 2 Empress Matilda Empress Matilda Holy Roman Empress from 1114 to 1125; claimant to the English throne 1102–1167 · Medieval
  3. 3 Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi Regent of China from 1861 to 1908 1835–1908 · 19th century
  4. 4 Empress Masako Empress Masako Empress of Japan since 2019 b. 1963 · Contemporary
  5. 5 Empress Myeongseong Empress Myeongseong Queen of Joseon from 1866 to 1895 1851–1895 · 19th century
  6. 6 Empress Michiko Empress Michiko Empress of Japan from 1989 to 2019 b. 1934 · Contemporary
  7. 7 Empress Dowager Longyu Empress Dowager Longyu Empress of China from 1889 to 1908 1868–1913 · 19th century
  8. 8 Empress Lü Empress Lü Empress of Han China from 202 to 195 BC, regent from 195 to 180 BC -241–-180 · Antiquity
  9. 9 Empress Gi Empress Gi Korean Yuan Empress consort (1315–1370) Medieval
  10. 10 Empress Go-Sakuramachi Empress Go-Sakuramachi Empress of Japan from 1762 to 1771 1740–1813 · 18th century
  11. 11 Empress Teimei Empress Teimei Empress of Japan from 1912 to 1926 1884–1951 · 19th century
  12. 12 Empress Suiko Empress Suiko Empress of Japan from 592 to 628 554–628 · Medieval
  13. 13 Empress Jingū Empress Jingū Legendary empress of Japan 169–269 · Antiquity
  14. 14 Empress Dowager Ci'an Empress Dowager Ci'an Empress of China from 1852 to 1861 1837–1881 · 19th century
  15. 15 Empress Shōken Empress Shōken Empress of Japan from 1869 to 1912 1849–1914 · 19th century
  16. 16 Empress Meishō Empress Meishō Emperor of Japan from 1629 to 1643 1624–1696 · 17th century
  17. 17 Empress Genmei Empress Genmei Empress of Japan from 707 to 715 660–721 · Medieval
  18. 18 Empress Jitō Empress Jitō Empress of Japan from 686 to 697 645–703 · Medieval
  19. 19 Empress Kōken Empress Kōken Empress of Japan (749–758; 764–770) 718–770 · Medieval
  20. 20 Empress Kōjun Empress Kōjun Empress of Japan from 1926 to 1989 1903–2000 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Empress, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Empress?

The median living Empress is about 7 years old. Half of all living Empresss are between 4 and 13 years old.

How many people named Empress are alive today?

An estimated 1,700 people named Empress are alive in the United States, based on 1,753 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

How popular is the name Empress in 2025?

Empress ranked #2,304 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 79 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Empress?

1,753 babies have been named Empress in the United States since 1986, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Empress most popular?

Empress peaked in 2019, when 157 newborns received the name.

Is Empress a boy or girl name?

Empress is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Empress rising or falling?

Empress is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Empress become more popular?

Empress is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 67 girls named Empress in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Empress?

Well-known people named Empress include Empress Elisabeth of Austria (companion), Empress Matilda (nobleman), Empress Dowager Cixi (politician).

Names like Empress

Names that sound and feel close to Empress: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Empress with similar names → More names starting with E →