Emily
Emily was the 34th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 5,451 babies. Its best year was 1996, when it ranked 1st; the most babies were born in 1999 (26,542). Over the last ten years it has moved down 26 places. More babies were named Emily in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Meaning from the Roman family name Aemilius · Latin
Say it EM-uh-lee /ˈɛməli/
- Rank in 2025
- #34 girls, down 16 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 5,451girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 199926,542 babies
- Total since 1880
- 898,296babies recorded
What does the name Emily mean?
Emily is the English form of Aemilia, the feminine of the Roman family name Aemilius. Wiktionary connects Aemilius with Latin aemulus, 'rival'; that is a traditional explanation of a Roman family name, so it is best read as 'probable'. DMNES warns that Emily is often confused with Amelia, which has a separate, Germanic origin.
Aemilia (Latin, “feminine of the gens name Aemilius”)aemulus (Latin, “rival, emulator (proposed root)”)
How sure is this? Probable.
Other explanations you may read: Same name as Amelia.
See also: Latin names.
Sources for this meaning
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources (ed. S. L. Uckelman), Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Amelia'
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources (ed. S. L. Uckelman), Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Emily'
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (names.zip, yob*.txt), team3 computation
- Wikidata item Q18121477
- Wiktionary, entry 'Emily'
Nicknames for Emily
The usual nicknames for Emily are Em, Emmy and Millie. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Emily in the last five years, 41 were named Millie, against fewer than 1 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Em · also for Emilia, Emma, Emersyn | Traditional | — | — |
| Emmy · also for Emilia, Emma, Emersyn | Traditional | #445 | 3,181 |
| Millie · also for Amelia, Emilia, Camille | Traditional | #73 | 12,731 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Emilys go by each one.
Emily popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 1,809 since 1896, 10 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #34 | 5,451 |
| 2020 | #18 | 6,918 |
| 2010 | #6 | 14,281 |
| 2000 | #1 | 25,959 |
| 1990 | #12 | 19,370 |
| 1980 | #31 | 9,001 |
| 1970 | #173 | 1,931 |
| 1960 | #251 | 1,225 |
| 1950 | #203 | 1,316 |
| 1940 | #164 | 1,269 |
| 1930 | #154 | 1,344 |
| 1920 | #119 | 2,168 |
| 1910 | #110 | 785 |
| 1900 | #105 | 626 |
| 1890 | #86 | 509 |
| 1880 | #100 | 210 |
How popular is Emily, counting every spelling?
Emily is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #39 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #34 for Emily on its own. Together these spellings went to 5,877 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emily | 5,451 | #34 | 30,704 |
| Emilie | 170 | #1,312 | 898 |
| Emilee | 106 | #1,867 | 708 |
| Emilly | 59 | #2,870 | 158 |
| Emelie | 25 | #5,134 | 151 |
| Emili | 34 | #4,209 | 103 |
| Emmily | 12 | #8,520 | 68 |
| Emillie | 10 | #9,647 | 50 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Emily?
5,451 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Emily (1.51 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Emily born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is about 1 in 35. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 2 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Emily.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Emily?
About 811,400 people born in the US named Emily are alive today, with a median age of 28; half are between 19 and 37. That makes Emily mostly worn by children and young adults.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Emily by state
How common Emily was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Delaware (2.1×), New Mexico (1.9×), Nevada (1.8×), Hawaii (1.8×), California (1.6×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Emily: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Emily, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Emily · Sibling names for Emily
Questions about the name Emily
What does Emily mean?
Emily means “from the Roman family name Aemilius” (Latin origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Emily?
Emily was the 34th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 5,451 babies. Its best year was 1996, when it ranked 1st; the most babies were born in 1999 (26,542). Over the last ten years it has moved down 26 places. More babies were named Emily in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Is Emily a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Emily in the US.
Where is Emily most popular?
In 2021–2025, Emily was most common in Delaware (8.02 per 1,000 girls), followed by New Mexico and Nevada.