Emily
The Roman family name Aemilius, usually derived from aemulus “rival.”
Popularity, 1880–2025
Emily Brontë and Emily Dickinson gave it literary polish long before its long turn-of-the-millennium reign at the top.
Emily appears in the national records from the very first year, 1880. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American girls in 81 different years between 1880 and 2025. It has been the single most popular name for American girls in 12 different years, first in 1996 and most recently in 2007. Its biggest year was 1999, when 26,542 newborn girls received the name, ranking it No. 1 nationally. In 2025 it ranked No. 34 for girls. All told, 898,296 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
Related names
Other spellings on record: Emilie (26,661), Emilee (24,027), Emely (23,880), Emmalee (9,008), Emalee (3,814), Emelie (2,612) (total births since 1880)
Explore Emily interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 3,368 | No. 81 |
| 1890s | 5,476 | No. 86 |
| 1900s | 6,423 | No. 97 |
| 1910s | 17,069 | No. 98 |
| 1920s | 18,754 | No. 119 |
| 1930s | 11,916 | No. 154 |
| 1940s | 13,409 | No. 162 |
| 1950s | 12,839 | No. 203 |
| 1960s | 12,332 | No. 198 |
| 1970s | 46,839 | No. 33 |
| 1980s | 131,764 | No. 13 |
| 1990s | 237,262 | No. 1 |
| 2000s | 223,768 | No. 1 |
| 2010s | 117,646 | No. 6 |
| 2020s | 37,622 | No. 17 |
Births and rank shown for girls, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.
🍼 Enjoying this? Buy my baby a diaper
Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.