The following is a list of characters appearing in the novel, compiled via the efforts of many people.
A List of Characters in Jane Austen's Emma
| Character | Description |
| Mr. Perry | Apothecary of Highbury with family: Mrs. Perry and the Perry Children |
| Mr. Wingfield | John Knightley's apothecary |
| Mrs. Wallis | Bakes apples for Miss Bates |
| Mr. John Knightley | George Knightley's brother. Marries Isabella Woodhouse. |
| Master George Knightley | Child of Isabella Woodhouse and John Knightley |
| Master Henry Knightley | Child of Isabella Woodhouse and John Knightley |
| Master John Knightley | Child of Isabella Woodhouse and John Knightley |
| Miss Bella Knightley | Child of Isabella Woodhouse and John Knightley |
| Miss Emma Knightley | Child of Isabella Woodhouse and John Knightley |
| Mr. Bragge | Cousin of Mr. Suckling |
| Mrs. Bragge | Cousin of Mr. Suckling |
| Miss Jane Fairfax | Daughter of Lieutenant Fairfax and Jane Bates Fairfax. Niece of Miss Hetty Bates. |
| Miss Jane Bates | Daughter of Rev. Mr. Bates and Mrs. Bates, sister to Miss Hetty Bates, mother of Jane Fairfax. |
| Miss Hetty Bates | Daughter of Rev. Mr. Bates and Mrs. Bates, sister to Miss Jane Bates (married Lt. Fairfax), aunt to Jane Fairfax |
| Miss Anna Weston | Daughter of the Westons |
| Braithwaite | Family - friends of Mr. and Mrs. Churchill |
| Rev. Mr. Bates | Father to Miss Jane Bates and Miss Hetty Bates |
| Old John Abdy | For 27 years clerk to the late Rev. Mr. Bates |
| Mrs. Bird | Friend of Augusta Elton (Hawkins) |
| Mrs. Brown | Friend of Augusta Elton Hawkins |
| Mr. Green | Friend of Augusta Hawkins Elton at Bath |
| Mr. Graham | Friend of Mr. John Knightley |
| Colonel Campbell | Friend/patron of Jane Fairfax |
| Mrs. Campbell | Friend/patron of Jane Fairfax. Daughter, Miss Campbell, married Mr Dixon |
| Anne Taylor/Mrs. Weston | Governess to Emma and Isabella Woodhouse, marries Mr. Weston |
| John Saunders | Miss Bates considers taking her mother's spectacles to him to fix |
| James | Hartfield coachman |
| Serle | Hartfield cook |
| Mr. Henry Woodhouse | Hartfield, Highbury. Daughter Isabella m. John Knightley. Daughter Emma m. George Knightley |
| Miss Nash | Head teacher at Mrs. Goddard's school |
| Mr. George Knightley | Our hero! Old friend of the Woodhouse family, primary landowner and magistrate of the parish, and older brother of John Knightley; marries Emma Woodhouse |
| Miss Emma Woodhouse | Heroine, marries George Knightley |
| Miss Caroline Otway | Highbury resident |
| Mr. Arthur Otway | Highbury resident |
| Mr. George Otway | Highbury resident |
| Mr. and Mrs. Cole | Highbury residents |
| Mr. and Mrs. Otway | Highbury residents |
| Mrs. Ford | Highbury shopkeeper |
| Mrs. Hodges | Housekeeper at Donwell Abbey |
| Wright | Housekeeper at the vicarage |
| William Larkins | Manager/overseer Donwell Abbey |
| Lieutenant Fairfax | Married Jane Bates; Jane Fairfax's father. |
| Miss. Augusta Hawkins/Mrs. Elton | Marries Mr. Elton, sister to Selina |
| Miss Selina Hawkins | Marries Mr. Suckling, sister to Augusta |
| Miss Churchill | Mr. Churchill's sister. Married Captain Weston and had son Frank C. Weston Churchill |
| Mr. Suckling | Of Maple Grove, near Bristol; m. Selina Hawkins |
| Mrs. Goddard | Owner of school for girls in Highbury |
| Miss Bickerton | Parlour border at Mrs Goddard's school |
| Tom | Servant (at Randalls?) |
| Harry | Servant at Donwell Abbey |
| Hannah | Servant at Randalls, daughter of James the Hartfield coachman |
| Patty | Servant to Mrs. and Miss Bates |
| Frank Churchill | Son of Captain Weston and Miss Churchill, adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Churchill of Enscombe |
| John Abdy | Son of Old John, ostler and head man at the Crown |
| Mrs. Stokes | The Crown Inn at Highbury |
| Miss Harriet Smith | The natural daughter of somebody - marries Robert Martin. Mrs. Goddard's former student and, during the story, current parlor-boarder. |
| Rev. Mr. Philip Elton | Vicar of Highbury, marries Miss Augusta Hawkins |
| Mrs. Bates | Widow of Rev. Mr. Bates, mother to Miss Jane Bates m. Lieut. Fairfax, and Miss Hetty Bates. |
| Mrs. James Cooper | friend of Augusta Hawkins Elton |
| Mrs. Partridge | friend of Augusta Hawkins Elton |
| Mrs. Smallridge | friend of Sucklings and Bragges, offered Jane Fairfax a governess position |
| Mr. William Coxe | lawyer; a second young Coxe, the two Miss Coxes; Miss Anne Coxe |
| Miss Campbell | married Mr. Dixon |
| Mrs. Martin | of Abbey-Mill-Farm. Son, Robert. Daughters, Elizabeth and one other. |
| Mr. Dixon | of Balycraig, Ireland, married Miss Campbell |
| Mr. and Mrs. Churchill | of Enscombe in Yorkshire, fostered Frank Weston Churchill |
| Captain (Mr.) Weston | of Randalls near Hartfield. Marries 1) Miss Churchill of Enscombe (son Frank C. Weston Churchill), 2) Miss Anna Taylor |
| Farmer Mitchell | provides Mr Weston with umbrellas |
| Mr. Richard Hughes | resident of Highbury |
| Dr. and Mrs. Hughes | residents of Highbury |
| Mrs. Jeffereys | see Partridge |
| Miss Prince | teacher at Mrs. Goddard's school |
| Miss Richardson | teacher at Mrs. Goddard's school |
| Tupman | upstart who settled near the Suckling home of Maple Grove |
| Misses Abbot | the two Abbots (first names unknown), students at Mrs. Goddard's school |
| Gilbert | the two Gilberts, Highbury residents |
| Miss Clara Partridge | AKA Mrs. Jeffereys, friend of Mrs. Elton |
| The Two Miss Milmans | friends of Mrs. Elton; their married names are Mrs. Bird and Mrs. James Cooper |
That's it!