girl's name
Emily
EM-ih-lee
- Origin Latin
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 100 (US)
- Births on record 1,112,015
the United States
#34
2025 births
Emily is a girl's name of Latin origin, from the Roman family name Aemilius. It is usually translated as "rival" or "eager," though the root is disputed, and it is a separate name from Amelia despite centuries of overlap between the two in English.
- Emily is a name of Latin origin.
- Peaked in 1999, when 26,587 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 607 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Emily over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 3,368 |
| 1890s | 5,481 |
| 1900s | 6,423 |
| 1910s | 17,086 |
| 1920s | 18,807 |
| 1930s | 11,969 |
| 1940s | 13,442 |
| 1950s | 12,853 |
| 1960s | 12,337 |
| 1970s | 46,987 |
| 1980s | 132,291 |
| 1990s | 237,646 |
| 2000s | 224,161 |
| 2010s | 117,777 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 37,668 |
What Emily means
Emily is generally glossed as "rival," "eager," or "striving," from a root sometimes connected to the Latin aemulus, meaning rival. The derivation is not certain, and some scholars treat Aemilius as an inherited clan name whose original sense is no longer recoverable.
Where Emily comes from
Emily comes from the Latin Aemilia, feminine of the Roman family name Aemilius, borne by one of the more prominent patrician clans of the Republic. The name is often linked to aemulus, meaning rival or emulous, though whether the clan name derives from that word or merely resembles it is unresolved. Emilia passed into Italian and reached English as Emily, helped by Chaucer's Emelye in The Knight's Tale. In English use it has been repeatedly confused with Amelia, which comes from an unrelated Germanic root — the two names have exchanged meanings and spellings for centuries, which is why dictionaries often list overlapping definitions for both.
Emily in use
Emily and Amelia are unrelated in origin but have been blurred together in English for centuries.
How popular is Emily?
In 2025, Emily was given to 5,461 babies in the United States, ranking #34 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Where Emily is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Emily is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Émily | Émily is a rare spelling of Emily, written with an acute accent and recorded about 130 times, mostly in France. | 130 |
Names that peaked alongside Emily
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Emily also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Emily over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Emily
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.
Emily 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 Emily
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Emily — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Emily
What does the name Emily mean?
Emily is usually translated as "rival" or "eager," from the Roman family name Aemilius, though the root is disputed.
Are Emily and Amelia the same name?
No. Emily comes from the Latin Aemilius and Amelia from a Germanic root, though English usage has blurred them for centuries.
What are nicknames for Emily?
Em, Emmy, and Millie are the most common short forms.
How popular is the name Emily?
In 2025, Emily was given to 5,461 babies in the United States, ranking #34 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Is Emily a girl's or a boy's name?
Emily is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Emily?
Emily has 3 syllables.
When was Emily most popular?
Emily peaked in 1999, when 26,587 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
Is Emily a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Emily currently ranks #5 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.