girls' name ★ peaked 1999

Emily

Meaning rival, emulator Gender Girl Rank 2025 #34 Trend ↓ Falling 24%

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

Rank 2025
#34
among girls · ↓9 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
5,461
named Emily · -9% vs 2024
How common
1 in 295
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1999
26,587 babies
All-time total
898,296
#18 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Emily popularity over time

898,296 babies have been named Emily since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
510152018801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 3,368 – 3,368 337 – #81
1890s 5,476 5 5,481 548 +63% #86
1900s 6,423 – 6,423 642 +17% #97
1910s 17,069 17 17,086 1,709 +166% #98
1920s 18,754 53 18,807 1,881 +10% #119
1930s 11,916 53 11,969 1,197 -36% #154
1940s 13,409 33 13,442 1,344 +12% #162
1950s 12,839 14 12,853 1,285 -4% #203
1960s 12,332 5 12,337 1,234 -4% #198
1970s 46,839 148 46,987 4,699 +281% #33
1980s 131,764 527 132,291 13,229 +182% #13
1990s 237,262 384 237,646 23,765 +80% #1
2000s 223,768 393 224,161 22,416 -6% #1
2010s 117,646 131 117,777 11,778 -47% #6
2020s (to 2025) 37,622 46 37,668 6,278 -47% #17

Where Emily is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 5,200 3.24 #38
2027 4,996 3.11 #40
2028 4,829 3.00 #43
2029 4,691 2.92 #45
2030 4,577 2.85 #48

Where Emily is most popular

Girls named Emily per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 3.78 per 1,000. Strongest in Delaware, New Mexico, and Nevada.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Emily born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Delaware 91 8.02 +112%
New Mexico 173 7.11 +88%
Nevada 309 6.65 +76%
Hawaii 76 6.63 +75%
California 5,175 6.16 +63%
New Jersey 1,078 5.97 +58%
Rhode Island 74 5.91 +56%
Connecticut 334 5.74 +52%
Alaska 49 5.69 +50%
Wyoming 24 5.63 +49%
Florida 2,363 5.52 +46%
Washington 770 5.33 +41%
Massachusetts 641 5.30 +40%
Arizona 739 5.27 +39%
District of Columbia 61 5.15 +36%
Illinois 1,159 5.06 +34%
Maryland 535 5.05 +33%
Oregon 325 4.99 +32%
Texas 3,943 4.90 +30%
New Hampshire 90 4.87 +29%
Idaho 160 4.78 +26%
New York 1,879 4.74 +25%
Colorado 521 4.67 +23%
Virginia 772 4.53 +20%
South Carolina 398 4.43 +17%
Utah 363 4.36 +15%
Alabama 399 4.25 +12%
Montana 57 4.21 +11%
Nebraska 151 4.20 +11%
North Carolina 932 4.09 +8%
Kansas 236 4.09 +8%
Pennsylvania 958 4.05 +7%
Maine 61 3.94 ≈ national
Georgia 888 3.91 ≈ national
Tennessee 617 3.89 ≈ national
South Dakota 54 3.78 ≈ national
Louisiana 328 3.75 ≈ national
Oklahoma 271 3.68 ≈ national
Arkansas 191 3.61 -5%
Kentucky 306 3.58 -5%
Wisconsin 355 3.45 -9%
Indiana 481 3.43 -9%
North Dakota 43 3.27 -14%
Minnesota 344 3.19 -16%
Iowa 184 3.15 -17%
Vermont 15 3.09 -18%
Ohio 691 2.91 -23%
Mississippi 128 2.74 -28%
West Virginia 71 2.71 -28%
Michigan 487 2.67 -29%
Missouri 322 2.67 -29%

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Emily

Emily is a top-50 name for girls in the United States, ranked #34 in 2025 with 5,451 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 898,296 American babies have been named Emily. Its peak came in 1999, when 26,587 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1990s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Emily stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Emily?

The median living Emily is about 27 years old; half are between 18 and 36. An estimated 819 thousand people named Emily are alive in the United States today.

median 27 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Emily year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 5,451 #34 10 #7,833
2024 5,984 #25 10 #7,931
2023 6,177 #19 9 #8,445
2022 6,498 #17 – –
2021 6,594 #21 6 #11,163
2020 6,918 #18 11 #7,162
2019 8,259 #12 8 #9,127
2018 8,718 #12 11 #7,273
2017 9,817 #12 5 #12,856
2016 11,006 #9 7 #9,962
2015 11,808 #8 17 #5,360
2014 12,670 #7 11 #7,195
2013 13,144 #7 20 #4,674
2012 13,666 #6 21 #4,583
2011 14,277 #6 11 #7,144
2010 14,281 #6 20 #4,730
2009 15,366 #6 19 #4,983
2008 17,448 #3 26 #3,968
2007 19,367 #1 27 #3,814
2006 21,412 #1 31 #3,405
2005 23,952 #1 33 #3,108
2004 25,042 #1 120 #1,256
2003 25,693 #1 41 #2,519
2002 24,470 #1 34 #2,774
2001 25,059 #1 32 #2,885
2000 25,959 #1 30 #2,939
1995 24,382 #3 40 #2,063
1990 19,370 #12 53 #1,573
1985 13,144 #24 47 #1,435
1980 9,001 #31 33 #1,741
1975 5,482 #48 16 #2,566
1970 1,931 #173 6 #4,398
1965 1,288 #238 – –
1960 1,225 #251 – –
1955 1,304 #223 – –
1950 1,316 #203 7 #3,127
1945 1,134 #181 7 #2,825
1940 1,269 #164 5 #3,606
1935 1,094 #173 – –
1930 1,344 #154 10 #2,658
1925 1,767 #145 5 #4,399
1920 2,168 #119 7 #3,595
1915 2,091 #99 – –
1910 785 #110 – –
1905 683 #100 – –
1900 626 #105 – –
1895 605 #89 – –
1890 509 #86 – –
1885 346 #87 – –
1880 210 #100 – –

Famous people named Emily

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Emily Blunt Emily Blunt British actress (born 1983) Contemporary
  2. 2 Emily Osment Emily Osment American actress, singer and songwriter (born 1992) Contemporary
  3. 3 Emily Brontë Emily Brontë English writer and novelist (1818–1848) 19th century
  4. 4 Emily Watson Emily Watson English actress (born 1967) Contemporary
  5. 5 Emily Deschanel Emily Deschanel American actress (born 1976) Contemporary
  6. 6 Emily VanCamp Emily VanCamp Canadian actress (born 1986) Contemporary
  7. 7 Emily Mortimer Emily Mortimer British actress (born 1971) Contemporary
  8. 8 Emily Ratajkowski Emily Ratajkowski American model and actress (born 1991) Contemporary
  9. 9 Emily Browning Emily Browning Australian actress (born 1988) Contemporary
  10. 10 Emily Hampshire Actor, Canada b. 1981 · Contemporary
  11. 11 Emily Dickinson Emily Dickinson American poet (1830–1886) 19th century
  12. 12 Emily Wickersham Emily Wickersham American actress (born 1984) Contemporary
  13. 13 Emily Procter Emily Procter American actress (born 1968) Contemporary
  14. 14 Emily Bett Rickards Emily Bett Rickards Canadian actress (born 1991) Contemporary
  15. 15 Emily Kinney Emily Kinney American actress, singer, and songwriter b. 1985 · Contemporary
  16. 16 Emily Bergl Emily Bergl British actress (born 1975) Contemporary
  17. 17 Emily Rios Actor, United States b. 1989 · Contemporary
  18. 18 Emily Perkins Actor, Canada b. 1977 · Contemporary
  19. 19 Emily Rose Emily Rose American actress b. 1981 · Contemporary
  20. 20 Emily Meade Emily Meade American actress b. 1989 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Emily, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Emily?

The median living Emily is about 27 years old. Half of all living Emilys are between 18 and 36 years old.

How many people named Emily are alive today?

An estimated 819 thousand people named Emily are alive in the United States, based on 898,296 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Emily mean?

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

How popular is the name Emily in 2025?

Emily ranked #34 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 5,451 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Emily?

898,296 babies have been named Emily in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Emily most popular?

Emily peaked in 1999, when 26,587 newborns received the name.

Is Emily a boy or girl name?

Emily is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Emily rising or falling?

Emily is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Emily become more popular?

Emily is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 4,577 girls named Emily in 2030, which would rank around #48. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Emily?

Well-known people named Emily include Emily Blunt (actor), Emily Osment (actor), Emily Brontë (writer).

Names like Emily

Names that sound and feel close to Emily: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Emily with similar names → More names starting with E →