| Wren | Emerson | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | small songbird (the wren) | Son of Emery |
| Origin | english | English |
| Gender | Unisex | Unisex |
| Pronunciation | REN | EM-er-sun |
| Syllables | 1 | 3 |
| First appeared | 1888 | 1993 |
| Peak year | 2022 (1,609) | 2025 (2,241) |
| In 2025 | 1,331 | 2,241 |
| Trend | Rising | Near its peak |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Wren | Emerson |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 8,023 | 11,246 |
| 2010s | 4,477 | 16,233 |
| 2000s | 677 | 6,205 |
| 1990s | 169 | 366 |
| 1980s | 101 | 0 |
| 1970s | 77 | 0 |
| 1960s | 44 | 0 |
| 1950s | 58 | 0 |
| 1940s | 5 | 0 |
| 1910s | 5 | 0 |
| 1880s | 5 | 0 |
A nature name taken directly from the English word for the small, energetic songbird, from Old English 'wrenna'. It also exists as an English surname. Its use as a first name is modern.
An English surname, “son of Emery,” with Emery meaning “brave, powerful.”
Emerson is more popular than Wren today: about 2,241 US babies were given the name Emerson in 2025, compared with 1,331 named Wren.
Wren means small songbird (the wren) (english origin), while Emerson means Son of Emery (English origin).
In US records, Wren first appears in 1888 and Emerson in 1993, so Wren has the longer recorded history.