Emily
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Meaning
traditionally "rival," from the Roman family name Aemilius; Chaucer used the spelling Emelye
Goes by Em, Emi, Emmy, Millie. See all nicknames
The story
Emily's literary history starts well before Dickinson's manuscripts. An English feminine form of the Roman family name Aemilius, it is traditionally linked to Latin for "rival." Chaucer used the spelling Emelye in The Knight's Tale, giving the family a medieval English appearance. A later royal connection helped Emily become common after the Hanoverian succession: Princess Amelia Sophia was known as Emily, although Amelia and Emily have different etymologies. Familiar use could bring names together even when their roots stayed apart. Dickinson adds a smaller, tangible chapter to that history. She gathered poems into homemade booklets bound with kitchen string. After her death, her sister Lavinia found the booklets and pressed for publication. From a Roman family name through medieval verse and a royal household, Emily eventually appears on pages one sister assembled and another helped send into the world.
Emily 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
More branches
Emily in song
Emily I'm Sorry
boygenius (2023)
An apology from Phoebe Bridgers that never quite lands as one, and one of the first songs released from boygenius's Grammy-winning debut.
On record since at least 1818: Emily Brontë, English novelist.
How popular is Emily around the world?
In the United States, 37,668 babies were named Emily between 2020 and 2025. In Chile, 1,075 girls were registered as Emily in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
Emily is on the official records of the United States, Chile, Mexico City, Ireland, Scotland, Argentina, South Australia, Norway, Austria, Montevideo, England and Wales, New Zealand, Canada, Puerto Rico, New South Wales, Brazil, Poland, France and Spain.
Emily crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record, of a Spanish-speaking one and of Brazil’s 2022 census, which counts people of every age. The full lists: English and Spanish · English and Portuguese · Spanish and Portuguese
United States
1 in 580
In the United States, 37,668 babies were named Emily between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Emily peaked in the 1990s. Emily went to 11,825 US babies in 2015 and 5,461 in 2025, 46% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Chile
1 in 170
In Chile, 1,075 girls were registered as Emily in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
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
Mexico City City
1 in 180
In Mexico City, there were 650 registrations of Emily in 2022.
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 (41 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Ireland
1 in 220
In Ireland, 246 girls named Emily were born in 2025, the 6th most common name among girls that year.
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
Scotland
1 in 230
In Scotland, 198 girls named Emily were registered in 2024, the 7th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
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
Argentina
1 in 270
In Argentina, 2,489 newborns were given the name Emily in 2024.
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
South Australia
1 in 2902017
In South Australia, 63 girls were registered as Emily in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
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
Norway
1 in 290register 2026
In Norway, 91 girls were given the name Emily in 2025.
share of the girls 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)
Austria
1 in 440
In Austria, 172 girls named Emily were born in 2025, the 43rd most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
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)
Montevideo City
1 in 5202011
In Montevideo, 46 girls named Emily were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
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
England and Wales
1 in 610
In England and Wales, 956 girls named Emily were born in 2025, the 44th most common name among girls that year.
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
New Zealand
1 in 620
In New Zealand, 93 girls named Emily were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Canada
1 in 700
In Canada, 521 girls named Emily were born in 2024, the 36th most common name among girls that year.
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)
Puerto Rico
1 in 1,100
In Puerto Rico, 16 babies were named Emily in 2025, and 1,054 have carried the name since 1998.
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)
New South Wales
#61 · 2025
In New South Wales, 111 girls named Emily were registered in 2025, ranked 61st in that year’s top 100 for girls.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
Brazil
1 in 1,400
At the 2022 census, 140,315 people in Brazil were named Emily, the 241st most common name, with a median age of 13.
Among people named Emily living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2000s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 14,101 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. 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
Poland
1 in 3,500
In Poland, 71 girls named Emily were born in 2025, the 143rd most common name among girls that year.
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)
France
1 in 5,900
In France, about 110 girls named Emily were born in 2025, the 459th most common name among girls that year.
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)
Spain
1 in 16,000
In Spain, 2,861 residents are named Emily, the 723rd most common name among women, with a mean age of 12.9 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
When you meet Emily
Most people given the name Emily in the United States were born between 1980 and 2009. The Emily you meet today is most often in her 20s or 30s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Where Emily travels
Irish · among the most popular girls' names in Ireland today
Chinese American · a hugely popular ABC-generation pick since the 1990s
Keep exploring
Names like Emily · Names that go with Emily · Nicknames for Emily · Irish baby names · Chinese American baby names · Names of poets and writers · Climbers and fallers
The Emily deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Emily 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 Emily fits with your family’s names and surname.
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