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Emil

boy name
Origin
Latin
Syllables
2
Peak era
1890s/1920s
Today
▬ Steady

Torn between Emil and another name? Compare them side by side →

Meaning

from the Roman family name Aemilius, traditionally linked to Latin aemulus, "rival"

The story

At Helsinki in 1952, Emil Zátopek followed Olympic gold on the track with victory in his first marathon. The Czech runner's achievement gives Emil a real sporting history beyond the name's familiar fictional mischief. Its ancestry is Roman: Emil continues the family name Aemilius, traditionally connected to Latin aemulus, "rival." The old word gains a particularly apt later association through a runner who competed on both track and road. Another Emil lives on a Swedish farm in Småland in Astrid Lindgren's stories. Her literary estate describes a boy whose troublesome adventures begin with good intentions; one episode leaves his head stuck in a soup tureen. Those are very different predicaments from an Olympic race. Between the Roman family name, the Czech runner and the Swedish farmboy, Emil offers history on a large scale and comedy small enough to fit around a serving bowl.

More names with stories →

Emil across languages

One shared root links 7 names across 4 languages.

Shared root: from the Roman family name Aemilius, traditionally explained as "rival"; Amelia has a different origin

The constellation

EmilGermanEmilyEnglishEmiliaItalianEmilieFrenchEmileFrench

More branches

EmileeEnglish · variantEmelyEnglish · variant

Ways to honor Emily →

How popular is Emil around the world?

In the United States, 993 babies were named Emil between 2020 and 2025. In Norway, 405 boys were given the name Emil in 2025.

Emil is on the official records of the United States, Norway, Austria, Poland, Puerto Rico, Ireland, Scotland, France, England and Wales, Canada, Mexico City, Spain, Argentina, Chile and Brazil.

United States

1 in 22,000

In the United States, 993 babies were named Emil between 2020 and 2025.

peak 1890s2020s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Emil peaked in the 1890s and the 1920s in nearly equal measure. In US birth records Emil has stayed between 810 and 1,861 births in every decade since the 1950s: a name everyone knows and few children get.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

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Norway

1 in 69 · register 2026

In Norway, 405 boys were given the name Emil in 2025.

1945peak 2010

share of the boys on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure

People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)

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Austria

1 in 210

In Austria, 367 boys named Emil were born in 2025, the 16th most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.

1984peak 2025

share of that year’s births on record

Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)

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Poland

1 in 620

In Poland, 398 boys named Emil were born in 2025, the 64th most common name among boys that year.

2000peak 2025

share of that year’s name registrations

First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)

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Puerto Rico

1 in 3,600

In Puerto Rico, 5 babies were named Emil in 2025, and 231 have carried the name since 1998.

1998peak 20092025

share of that year’s births on record

First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)

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Ireland

1 in 7,700

In Ireland, 7 boys named Emil were born in 2025, the 468th most common name among boys that year.

2000peak 20122025

share of that year’s name registrations

Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names

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Scotland

1 in 11,000

In Scotland, 4 boys named Emil were registered in 2024, the 619th most common name among boys that year.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.

Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names

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France

1 in 13,000

In France, about 50 boys named Emil were born in 2025, the 786th most common name among boys that year.

1900peak 2023

share of that year’s births on record

Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)

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England and Wales

1 in 14,000

In England and Wales, 43 boys named Emil were born in 2025, the 771st most common name among boys that year.

1996peak 20152025

share of that year’s name registrations

Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales

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Canada

1 in 16,000

In Canada, 23 boys named Emil were born in 2024, ranked 1,071st among boys that year.

1991peak 2022

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)

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Mexico City City

1 in 17,000

In Mexico City, there were 7 registrations of Emil in 2022.

2000peak 2021

share of that year’s registrations in the city

Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023

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Spain

1 in 31,000

In Spain, 1,440 residents are named Emil, ranked 1,038th among men, with a mean age of 43.5 years.

Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025

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Argentina

1 in 51,000

In Argentina, 13 newborns were given the name Emil in 2024.

2012peak 20202024

share of that year’s name registrations

Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024

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Chile

1 in 59,000

In Chile, 3 boys were registered as Emil in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.

First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021

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Brazil

1 in 500,000

At the 2022 census, 315 people in Brazil were named Emil, ranked 18,391st, with a median age of 51.
Among people named Emil living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1950s than in any other decade.

peak 1950s2000s

people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth

People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022

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Montevideo City

last on record 2003

Emil is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.

Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial

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South Australia

last on record 2015

Emil is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.

Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names

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Not on the record in New Zealand: that registry withholds small counts, so rare uses may sit below its floor.

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

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.

Names that fit alongside Emil

Salvador Julio August Valentin Camilo Maximo

Keep exploring

Scandinavian baby names · Global crossover names · Short names · Familiar but never popular

The Emil deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

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.

Both reports, explained →

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