Emily
Emily is a feminine given name derived from the Roman family name "Aemilius", and is the feminine form of the name Emil.
- English
Meaning & Origin of Emily
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Emily is a feminine given name derived from the Roman family name "Aemilius", and is the feminine form of the name Emil.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- English
The Story of Emily
Emily first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1880, with 210 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1999, when 26,542 Emilys were born — ranking #1 that year. As of 2026, Emily ranks #29 for baby girls with 5,773 births, falling sharply (-25%). In total, more than 903K Emilys have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1880s through the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Emily
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Emily. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Where is Emily most common?
Predicted country distribution based on naming patterns globally.
- China57%
- HK15%
- TW14%
- United States7%
- South Africa7%
Source: Nationalize.io . Probabilities are global naming-pattern estimates, not strict counts.
Names that sound like Emily
Phonetically similar names — useful when Emily 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 Emily
What does the name Emily mean?
What is the origin of the name Emily?
How popular is Emily in 2026?
When was Emily most popular?
In which U.S. states is Emily most popular?
Is Emily a unisex name?
What names go well with Emily?
What are nicknames or variants of Emily?
About the name Emily
Emily is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1880 and has accumulated 903K births in the dataset. Emily's peak popularity came in 1999 when it ranked #1. Use the chart and map above to compare Emily's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1999 →
- Names of the 1990s →
- Names starting with "E" →
- Browse all girl 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.