Emil
Meaning
rival, eager (from Aemilius); number 4 in Norway (2025) and number 7 in Denmark (2024), used more quietly in the US
The story
Emil comes from Aemilius, one of Rome's great family names, traditionally traced to aemulus: the striver, the rival, someone who competes. Its American story is an immigrant story. The name arrived with German and Scandinavian families, was a fixture of the early twentieth century, then faded through the quiet middle decades. In Europe it never left: official name statistics put Emil at number 4 in Norway in 2025 and number 7 in Denmark in 2024, and in Sweden, whatever its rank in a given year, it belongs to a national institution: Astrid Lindgren's Emil of Lönneberga, the well-meaning farm boy whose pranks every Swedish child knows by heart. Sport gave it a different fame when Emil Zátopek won the 5,000 meters, the 10,000 meters and the marathon at the 1952 Helsinki Games, a triple nobody has matched since. US records show Emil most current in the 1890s and 1920s, with a modest return underway now.
Emil around the world
One shared root links 7 names across 4 languages.
Shared root: from the Roman family name Aemilius, traditionally glossed "rival"; kept firmly apart from lookalike Amelia by the reference books, if not by parents
The constellation
More branches
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Emil peaked in the 1890s and the 1920s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
315 people · the #18,391 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 500,000 · median age 51
Among people named Emil living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Emil
People given the name Emil in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1950 to 2019. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Emil deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Emil truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Emil fits with your family’s names and surname.
Where Emil travels
Scandinavian · rival, eager (Scandinavian form of Emil; number 4 in Norway (2025) and number 7 in Denmark (2024))
Keep exploring
Scandinavian baby names · Global crossover names · Short names
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