What does the name Emma mean?

Question

I want to Know what my name means. Could you tell me?

Answer 1

There are two different sources for the name "Emma" -- in each case, the name is an abbreviation of a longer name

1) People have sometimes used it as a nickname for "Emily" - from the masculine form "Emil", based on Roman family name Aemilius. There is some debate about the exact meaning of this word. Some say it was derived from Latin aemulus meaning "rival".
http://www.behindthename.com/php/view.php?name=emil

2) (more common?) a form of the German "Irmin" (also in English as "Irma").

Emma/Irma is actually an abbreviated form based on longer Germanic names like "Irmgard" and "Irminhild" from which the name "Imelda" comes. These sorts of two-part (or "dithematic") compound names were common in Germanic languages. You can see a combination of the other elements of the names just listed in the name "Hildegard". ("gard", incidentally, is related to both "guard" and "garden" [the latter, referring to a protected enclosure is derived from the root 'gard', meaning 'guard, protect'])


But what does "irmin" mean? Originally?

Here there is some uncertainty. The name MAY refer to an obscure ancient Germanic god "Irmin", worshiped by the group of German tribes referred to as "the Herminiones" by the Roman historian Tacitus. (Note that the name is included in THEIR name.) The center of worship for these people was "Irminsul", a great pillar. On this interpretation the pillar represents the god and the name of the object/place is "Irmin's pillar".

But the word "irmin" ALSO took on the general sense of "great" or perhaps "universal". That does not mean it had no connection to a god's name, since it is not unusual for divine names and titles to end up being used as intensifiers, with a sense like "great" (since a god is considered to BE great). The question is more how those who used the name understood it. On this view the name of the pillar mentioned above would be "the great/mighty pillar".



On "Irm(in)" and names including it see:
http://wiki.a32.net/bin/qwiki.pl?IrmgardName
http://german.about.com/library/blvornamen04.htm
http://www.behindthename.com/php/view.php?name=irmgard
http://www.behindthename.com/php/view.php?name=Imelda
http://www.timelessmyths.com/norse/teutonic.html


For more on the background of "Irmin" and its possible use to refer to a god, and on "Irminsal", see:
http://www.woden.org/irmin.html

http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Irmin
http://www.odinic-rite.org/irminsul.html

Answer 2

Derived from Germanic ermen meaning "whole" or "universal".
Origin / Heritage: Old German
Meaning: universal, all-embracing

Answer 3

It means "all embracing". It's my daughter's name.

Answer 4

http://www.babynamesworld.com/meaning_of_Emma.html