Name of the Week: Emmett

Origin:

Emmett is taken directly from the English surname Emmett, which derive from two sources: 1. During this Middle Ages, the vernacular English form of Emma was Em/Emm/Emme*. This gained the diminutive ending -ot creating Emmot(a), (which was not an uncommon name in its own right during the Middle Ages) and led to the creation of the surname Emmett.  Emma itself is an Old Germanic name, originating as a hypocoristic form of names containing the first element ermin "whole, universal". 2. In some cases, especially the spellings Emmot and Emmott, the surname may have derived from Emmot in Lancashire near Colne. This is thought to be the source of most of the Lancashire and West Yorkshire surnames (the two counties where the surname was most common). This place-name derives from the Old English eagemot meaning "junction of streams".

Usage:

Emma was a common name in the Middle Ages. George Redmond puts Emma at #7 in his rankings from ten English counties in 1377-1381, which he classifies as "Very Popular."  There are several medieval examples of Emma and Emmot being used interchangeably. For example, in the Ancient Deeds of Middlesex, 'Emma wife of Adam faber' is also called Emmota in 1353. Similarly, the Ancient Deeds of Kent has 'Emma alias Emmote Bochere' in 1413.  Smith Bannister's rank of top 50 names from 1538 to 1670 in England shows Emma/Emme ranking in 9 out of 16 decades:  1538-49: #30; 1550-9: #24; 1560-9: #29; 1570-9: #23; 1580-9: #42; 1590-9: #32; 1600-9: #47; 1610-9: #44; 1640-9: #43.  Emmat, separately, also ranks twice in this data: 1550-9: #33; 1590-9: #36.  Emmot continued to be used as a girls' name until the 17th century. Adoption of surnames as given names at this time (especially to honour god-parents of family members), led to the Emmett becoming used for boys as well.  Data from the 1881 census demonstrates that the surnames Emmet(t), Emmot(t), Emmit(t) etc were most common in Lancashire and West Yorkshire, indicating that the origin was not from the feminine name Emmot, but from the locational name Emmot near Colne.  It is interesting to see that Lancashire and West Yorkshire were also the areas where Emmett (and variants) were most common as a given name, demonstrating that the surname was being directly adopted as a given name.  Robert Emmet (1779-1803) was an Irish Republican who led a rebellion against British rule in Ireland in 1803, for which he was tried for high treason.  It is notable that the name Emmet(t) was combined with that of Chartist leaders Feargus O'Connor (1796-1855) and John Frost (1784-1877) during the Chartism movement of 1836-1848, indicating that Robert Emmet was used as a revolutionary namesake.  Boys named Emmet Frost O'Connor [surname] or Emmett Fergus O'Connor [surname] in the 1840s attest to this. Most of the use of Emmet(t) as a given name in the 19th century was masculine in use, though it was used occasionally for girls.  Records for Emmet(t) as a first name in the England and Wales Birth Index: 1840s: 1850s: 1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 1910s: 1920s: 1930s: 1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 1970s: 43 births 29 births 32 births 36 births 28 births 16 births 12 births 7 births 7 births 4 births 3 births 7 births 50 births 82 births Though Emmett became more common in the 1960s and 70s, it was always rather rare. It had far more success in America ranking #176 in 1880, #136 in 1890 and #175 in 1900.  In fact, all the famous bearers with Emmett as a first name who were born before the 1970s (below) are American. The US is also responsible for the most recognisable characters in film, such as the key character Dr. Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future series from 1985 to 1990 and Emmett Forrest, the love interest from the Legally Blonde films (2001 and 2003). The biggest impact on the name Emmett from popular culture was undoubtedly the Twilight series of books and films, featuring the young character Emmett Cullen. The books were released from 2005 to 2008 but this had very little impact on the name. However, the release of the films from 2008 to 2012 had a noticeable effect.  In 2008, Emmett ranked #3,687 with 4 births in England and Wales. This more than doubled in 2009 to #1981 (10 births). By the release of the final film, Emmett moved into the top 1000 for the first time at #821 (37 births).  The name has continued to rise ever since in England and Wales, reaching #572 with 65 births in 2018.  In Scotland, Emmett has been much rarer. From 1974 to 2007, Emmett only ranked once in 1977, 1987, 1992 and 2000. It became more common after 2008 but its highest peak to date was at #442 in 2017 with 7 births.  In 2018, Emmett rank #897 with 2 births in Scotland.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Emmett Dalton (1871–1937), an American outlaw. * Emmett J. Hull (1882–1957), American architect. * Emmett Kelly (1898-1979), was an American circus performer, who created the memorable clown figure "Weary Willie". * Emmett McLoughlin (1907-1970), American ex-priest and housing activist. * Emmett Morrison (1915–1993), American basketball player. * Emmett Barrett (1916-2005), American football player. * Emmett Till (1941-1955), African-American youth whose lynching was one of the key events leading up to the American Civil Rights Movement. Contemporary: * Emmett Leith (1927-2005), American scientist and electrical engineer. * Emmett J. Scanlan (born 1979), Irish actor who plays Brendan Brady in Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks. * Emmett Skilton (born 1987), New Zealand actor. Literature and Other Media: * Dr. Emmett Brown, a character in "Back to the Future" films.  * Emmett Cullen, a character from the "Twilight" series. * Emmett Forrest, a character from the "Legally Blonde" series. * Emmet Brickowski, the main character in the "Lego Movie" series.

Variants:

Emmet, Emmott, Emmitt, Emmatt

Pronunciation:

EM-ət [key]

Possible diminutives:

Em, Mets, Mitt

Sibling Names:

Romilly     Juliet     Sylvie     Adele     Vivienne     Gwen Vincent     Atlas     Gideon     Silas     Rafferty     Sullivan

Name Lists:

Upright Elegance  Funky-Clunky

 

If you like Emmett you may also like:   Everett, Bennett, Fergus, Phineas, Emrys, Beckett, Digby, Ewart, Evander, Roderick

Thanks to Laura for requesting this name.