Emily
Meaning
traditionally "rival," from the Roman family name Aemilius; Chaucer gave English its first Emily, and the 1990s gave it a very long run at #1 in America. Feminine without frills, with Em and Emmy for everyday
The story
Emily goes back to Aemilius, an old Roman family name traditionally glossed as rival, and English readers met it early: Chaucer's Knight's Tale gave the language its first Emily, the radiant Emelye two imprisoned knights fight to win. Emily Dickinson and Emily Brontë deepened the literary credentials, and by the twentieth century the name felt both bookish and warm. Its American record is the story of a spectacular second act: present but modest for most of a century, it caught fire in the 1980s and spent the 1990s and 2000s at the summit, including a very long run at number one. The slide since is simply what follows a long reign, and today it sits back near the level where great-grandmothers' Emilys began, which some parents will read as an opening. Feminine without frills, it still hands over Em and Emmy for every day.
Emily 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
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.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Emily peaked in the 1990s.
Popularity in Brazil
140,315 people · the #241 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 1,447 · median age 13
Among people named Emily living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2000s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 14,101 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
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.
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.
Where Emily travels
Irish · rival, industrious; among the most popular girls' names in Ireland today
Chinese American · rival, industrious; a hugely popular ABC-generation pick since the 1990s
Keep exploring
Names like Emily · Nicknames for Emily · Irish baby names · Chinese American baby names · Names of poets and writers
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