| Hope | Ember | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | hope | Glowing ember |
| Origin | english | english |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | HOHP | EM-bər |
| Syllables | 1 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1946 |
| Peak year | 2000 (2,321) | 2024 (2,183) |
| In 2025 | 868 | 1,952 |
| Trend | Steady | Near its peak |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Hope | Ember |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 6,849 | 10,992 |
| 2010s | 13,760 | 8,583 |
| 2000s | 18,690 | 1,598 |
| 1990s | 14,307 | 629 |
| 1980s | 7,624 | 463 |
| 1970s | 11,013 | 285 |
| 1960s | 8,733 | 71 |
| 1950s | 5,008 | 17 |
| 1940s | 3,009 | 8 |
| 1930s | 2,086 | 0 |
| 1920s | 3,376 | 0 |
| 1910s | 1,920 | 0 |
| 1900s | 429 | 0 |
| 1890s | 293 | 0 |
| 1880s | 128 | 0 |
A direct English virtue name taken from the ordinary word 'hope', one of the trio of Christian virtue names (Faith, Hope, Charity) that came into use among Puritans in the 16th-17th centuries. The vocabulary word descends from Old English 'hopa'.
English word name from 'ember', a small glowing piece of burning or smouldering coal or wood left from a fire. Used directly for that image of lingering fire.
Ember is more popular than Hope today: about 1,952 US babies were given the name Ember in 2025, compared with 868 named Hope.
Hope means hope (english origin), while Ember means Glowing ember (english origin).
In US records, Hope first appears in 1880 and Ember in 1946, so Hope has the longer recorded history.