Emil
The name Emil, Emile, or Émile is a male given name of Indo-European origin.
- Swedish
- Norwegian
- Danish
- German
Meaning & Origin of Emil
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
The name Emil, Emile, or Émile is a male given name of Indo-European origin.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- Swedish
- Norwegian
- Danish
- German
- Romanian
- Bulgarian
- Czech
- Slovak
- Polish
- Russian
- Slovene
- Serbian
- Croatian
- Macedonian
- Hungarian
- Icelandic
- English
The Story of Emil
Emil first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1880, with 119 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 1917: 1,004 births, good for #137 nationwide. About 22% of every Emil on record arrived during the 1920s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Emil ranks #1,173 for baby boys with 176 births, rising sharply (+21% over the past five years). All told, over 33K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1880s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Emil
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Emil. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Where is Emil most common?
Predicted country distribution based on naming patterns globally.
- Romania74%
- Egypt10%
- AZ6%
- Hungary6%
- Denmark4%
Source: Nationalize.io . Probabilities are global naming-pattern estimates, not strict counts.
Names that sound like Emil
Phonetically similar names — useful when Emil is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Emil
What does the name Emil mean?
What is the origin of the name Emil?
How popular is Emil in 2026?
When was Emil most popular?
In which U.S. states is Emil most popular?
Is Emil a unisex name?
What names go well with Emil?
What are nicknames or variants of Emil?
About the name Emil
Emil is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1880 and has accumulated 33K births in the dataset. Emil's peak popularity came in 1917 when it ranked #90. Use the chart and map above to compare Emil's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1917 →
- Names of the 1910s →
- Names starting with "E" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.