MEANING & HISTORY
What does Esmeralda mean?
Esmeralda is the Spanish and Portuguese word for emerald used as a personal name. Its older word ancestry reaches Greek smaragdos.
The gem is the direct vocabulary meaning, while ideas of luck or protection are additional beliefs rather than lexical elements. Victor Hugo’s Esmeralda supplied an influential literary association. The name consequently has both a transparent gemstone meaning and a distinct cultural history without requiring a supernatural property to explain it.
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
Tagalog
- /ʔesmeˈɾalda/Standard-Tagalog
- [ʔɛs.mɛˈɾal.d̪ɐ]Standard-Tagalog
Es · me · ral · da4 source divisions
Dictionary reading & contributors ↗Cebuano
- /ʔesmeˈɾalda/
- [ʔes̪.meˈɾ̪al̪.d̪ɐ]
Es · me · ral · da4 source divisions
Dictionary reading & contributors ↗Spanish
- /esmeˈɾalda/
- [ez.meˈɾal̪.d̪a]
Es · me · ral · da4 source divisions
Dictionary reading & contributors ↗Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
TagalogEtymology & source
Borrowed from Spanish Esmeralda, from esmeralda (“emerald”).
a female given name from Spanish
Wiktionary: Esmeralda (Tagalog) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
CebuanoEtymology & source
Borrowed from Spanish Esmeralda, from esmeralda (“emerald”).
a female given name from Spanish
Wiktionary: Esmeralda (Cebuano) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
EnglishEtymology & source
From Spanish esmeralda (“emerald”), as first used in the novel Notre-Dame de Paris (1831) by Victor Hugo.
A female given name from Spanish.
Wiktionary: Esmeralda (English) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
SpanishEtymology & source
From esmeralda (“emerald”).
a female given name
Wiktionary: Esmeralda (Spanish) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
Use in Philippine-linked records
Public-record transcription
1
eligible source records · 2001
This spelling is reported in an openly licensed transcription of elected-candidate records. This is a record count, not a birth count or national popularity measure.
OpenHalalan / COMELEC ↗PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Esmeralda in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to Esmeralda
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Esperanza♀Hope
- Estela·Star; Spanish and Portuguese form of Estelle
- Estrella♀Star
- Imelda♀From Irmhild: great and battle
- Mafalda♀Strength and battle, through Matilda
- Esmar♀Blend involving Esmeralda and a Mar-name
- Esteban♂Crown or wreath
- Ester♂♀Form of the biblical name Esther
What rhymes with Esmeralda?
Matches share a dictionary-supplied rhyme key in the stated language. Check the recorded reading; another language or accent can change the rhyme.
Explore Esmeralda further
Follow the sources
- OpenHalalan — pinned 2001 COMELEC transcription (opens in a new tab)
Source-reported given-name form in a row with a separate explicit middle initial; ODbL-1.0.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- Wiktionary contributors — Esmeralda (Tagalog) (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name sense and separately attributed etymology; no birth-frequency claim.
- Wiktionary contributors — Esmeralda (Cebuano) (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name sense and separately attributed etymology; no birth-frequency claim.
- Wiktionary contributors — Esmeralda (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Wiktionary contributors — Esmeralda (Spanish) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Behind the Name — Esmeralda (opens in a new tab)
Consulted account of the name’s formation, relevant root elements, or explicitly linked base name.