boy's name
Emile
ay-MEEL
- Origin French
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 194,512
Canada
#65
2024 births
Emile is a boy's name from a Roman family name whose meaning is uncertain — rival and eager are both proposed, and neither is settled. Our data marks it reviving, and its 1920 peak makes it one of the older names in this group.
- Emile is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in France in 1920, when 4,980 babies were given the name.
- After peaking in the 1920s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival in France.
- Today about 1 in 1,355 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1900.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Emile over time
Births per decade in France, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 46,520 |
| 1910s | 36,655 |
| 1920s | 37,585 |
| 1930s | 20,240 |
| 1940s | 9,265 |
| 1950s | 4,445 |
| 1960s | 1,830 |
| 1970s | 620 |
| 1980s | 720 |
| 1990s | 1,915 |
| 2000s | 3,430 |
| 2010s | 4,285 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 4,625 |
What Emile means
Emile is variously given as rival or as eager and industrious. The Roman family name Aemilius has no secure derivation, so both readings are proposals rather than translations.
Where Emile comes from
Emile is the French form of Aemilius, a Roman gens name usually connected either to aemulus, a rival, or to a root meaning eager or striving — the sources do not agree, and the family predates the etymologies offered for it. Rousseau's Émile of 1762 is a treatise on education written as a novel, and it was burned in Paris the year it appeared. Émile Zola's J'accuse of 1898, an open letter defending Dreyfus, is the name's other landmark. The accented Émile is the French spelling; Emile is the form our records carry.
Emile in use
Emile peaked in France in 1920, when 4,980 babies were registered, and our data marks it reviving. It no longer ranks in any of the six markets we track, across 194,512 lifetime births. A reviving name that has not yet re-entered a chart is a real pattern in our data — the direction of travel turns before the volume reaches a ranking threshold.
How popular is Emile?
In 2025, Emile was given to 435 babies in France, ranking #138 that year. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Emile is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
How Emile is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Émile | Émile is Emile written with an acute accent, used in France, where it ranks #106. | 3,610 |
Names that peaked alongside Emile
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Emile also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Emile over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Emile
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Emile in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Emile
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Emile — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Emile
What does the name Emile mean?
Not settled. Rival and eager are both proposed for the Roman family name Aemilius.
Is Emile related to Emily?
Yes — both come from Aemilius, and both carry the same unsettled meaning.
Who was Émile Zola?
The novelist whose 1898 open letter J'accuse defended Dreyfus.
Is Emile coming back?
Our data marks it reviving, though it has not yet re-entered a ranking in any market.
How popular is the name Emile?
In 2025, Emile was given to 435 babies in France, ranking #138 that year. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Is Emile a girl's or a boy's name?
Emile is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Emile?
Emile has 2 syllables.
When was Emile most popular?
Emile peaked in 1920, when 4,980 babies were given the name. After peaking in the 1920s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.
What are the nicknames for Emile?
Emile is usually shortened to Milo.
Is Emile a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Emile currently ranks #65 in France. After peaking in the 1920s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.