unisex name
Emory
EM-uh-ree
- Origin English
- Gender Unisex
- Syllables 3
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 30,010
the United States
#339
2025 births
Emory is a unisex name of Germanic origin, a variant of Emery. It descends from Emmerich, built from elements usually read as work or labor plus ruler — not from any word for home, despite the home strength gloss that circulates widely.
- Emory is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 2024, when 1,212 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 2,838 babies in the United States is given this name.
- Emory started out as a boys' name and is now given almost entirely to girls.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Emory 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 | 372 |
| 1890s | 362 |
| 1900s | 461 |
| 1910s | 1,749 |
| 1920s | 2,543 |
| 1930s | 1,934 |
| 1940s | 1,828 |
| 1950s | 1,456 |
| 1960s | 1,137 |
| 1970s | 693 |
| 1980s | 668 |
| 1990s | 1,039 |
| 2000s | 2,485 |
| 2010s | 6,632 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 6,403 |
What Emory means
Emory carries the sense of a powerful ruler. The first element is generally read as the Germanic amal, work or effort, and the second as ric, power or rule, giving something like ruler through effort.
Where Emory comes from
Emory varies Emery, from the Germanic Emmerich or Amalric, combining amal — a difficult element usually read as work, labor or vigor — with ric, power or ruler. The Normans carried the name to England, where it became a surname as well as a given name. The common gloss of home strength comes from confusing the first element with heim, a home, which produces the separate name Henry by a different route; surname dictionaries do not support it. In America the name is strongly associated with Emory University in Atlanta, named for a Methodist bishop.
Emory in use
Emory appears in our records in every year from 1880 and charts in only four of the seven countries we track.
How popular is Emory?
In 2025, Emory was given to 1,168 babies in the United States, ranking #339 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Emory 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.
Names that peaked alongside Emory
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Emory also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Emory over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Emory 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.
- German
- Emmerich
Sibling names for Emory
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Emory — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Emory
What does the name Emory mean?
Ruler through work, from the Germanic amal and ric. The home strength reading confuses the first element with heim, a home.
What is the difference between Emory and Emery?
Only the spelling. Emery is the older form and Emory is the American variant, made familiar by Emory University.
Is Emory a boy's or a girl's name?
Both, and increasingly given to girls.
How popular is the name Emory?
In 2025, Emory was given to 1,168 babies in the United States, ranking #339 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
How many syllables are in Emory?
Emory has 3 syllables.
When was Emory most popular?
Emory peaked in 2024, when 1,212 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
Is Emory a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Emory currently ranks #339 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.