Emily

What Emily means

Means “rival, emulator”

English form of Latin Aemilia, a gens name from aemulus (“rival, emulator”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Emily” (revision 94539086), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Emily?

US: Falling: down from #8 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #3 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1999, when 26,542 girls got the name (#1 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 295 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 265 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 91 baby girls in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in WY (9.86 per 1,000 girls), RI (6.53 per 1,000 girls), NM (5.99 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Emily is #34 in the US and #44 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.8% of US babies named Emily were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

Wiktionary only lists the US pronunciation so far.

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Emely590 US
• Emilee106 US · 8 E&W
• Amila77 US · 11 E&W
• Emilly59 US
• Emili34 US · 3 E&W
• Amely36 US
• Emeli32 US
• Emila9 US · 9 E&W

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Emily

Girls

• Anna#107Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #44 in 2015, #107 in 2025
• Lauren#401Same root as Laurence, possibly meaning “laurel”^*
• Miranda#654“admirable”^*
• Angel#546Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 2002, with 3,100 babies; 551 in 2025
• Julia#131Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 2001, with 8,838 babies; 2,172 in 2025
• Adriana#366Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #366 vs #951 in 2025

For a brother

• Victor#209“conqueror”^*
• Anthony#46“flower”^*
• Carlos#150Spanish and Portuguese form of Charles, meaning “free man”^*
• Justin#233“just”^*
• Marcus#258Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1984, with 5,996 babies; 1,341 in 2025
• Quinton#973“queen s town”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Latin, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Emily’s. Rank is US 2025.