Emily

Girl · Latin

Emily

Say it: EM-ih-lee

Meaning

From Latin Aemilia, the feminine of the Roman family name Aemilius, possibly from aemulus 'rival'. The meaning 'industrious' often given online belongs to Amelia's Germanic root and does not apply.

Uncertainseveral explanations, none settled.

Common in England from the 18th century, it was the most popular US girls' name from 1996 to 2007.

Its wave through time

Most used in the 1990s

In the United States

867,276 babies given this name since 1880
At its height in 1999, about 1 in 67 girls
6,866 babies in 2020

Through the ages

Used by

Latin English American Italian

The family of the name

Other spellings: Emilee, Emilie

French	Émilie
Italian	Emilia
Spanish	Emilia
German	Emilie

Famous bearers

Emily Dickinson, US poet
Emily Brontë, English novelist

Names worth a look

CynthiaGirlGreek, 'woman of Mount Kynthos', an epithet of Artemis.Greece · peak 1957

VirginiaGirlFrom the Roman family name Verginius, of uncertain origin, though long associated with Latin virgo 'maiden'.Rome · peak 1922

VictoriaGirlLatin victoria 'victory'.Rome · peak 1993

JuliaGirlLatin, feminine of Julius, a Roman family name of uncertain origin; the meaning 'youthful' found on name lists is a…Biblical · peak 1885

DianaGirlThe Roman goddess of the hunt and the moon; her name is probably from an old Indo-European root meaning 'divine, of…Rome · peak 1946

PaulaGirlLatin, feminine of Paulus 'small'.Rome · peak 1963

EmiliaGirlFrom the Roman family name Aemilius, often linked to aemulus 'rival', though this is uncertain.Renaissance · peak 2020

EmilioBoyFrom the Roman family name Aemilius, often linked to Latin aemulus 'rival', though that is not certain.Modern · peak 2020

Where this comes from

Roman literature and history (Livy, Cicero, Tacitus and others)
Well-known works of literature
United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source

Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.

Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.