How to say it
EM · ber
/ˈɛm.bɚ/
Feminine
Ember
Glowing coal
What it means
English word for the glowing remnant of a fire, from Old English ǣmyrġe ('ash'). A modern word name that picked up in the 2010s alongside other elemental and nature names (Autumn, Aspen, Wren).
Ember is straight from the English word for the glowing remnant of a fire, from the Old English ǣmyrġe ('ashes, embers'). Disney's Elemental (2023) features a character named Ember (the fire-element protagonist), which gave the name a Gen-Alpha pop-culture anchor. As a given name Ember is recent and American: rare before 2010, then climbing fast with the broader elemental-name wave (Autumn, Aspen, Wren). It entered the US top 200 in 2017. Single short forms aren't common.
Popularity over time
peaked at #135 in 2024, currently #154 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–present. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Pop culture
Disney Pixar's Elemental (2023) named its fire-element protagonist Ember; that's the dominant Gen-Alpha cultural anchor.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- Ember (Elemental) The fire-element heroine of Pixar's Elemental, 2023
Spelling variants
- Embre
Names with the same feeling
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