Name Rarity Checker / How rare is Emily
How Rare Is the Name Emily?
Emily is one of the most recorded girls' names in the country. It ranks 52nd of all time in U.S. records, with about 1 in 417 people sharing it, which puts it in the Common tier. It was most popular in the 1990s. Here is the full picture, decade by decade, plus a card you can save and share.
- Rarity
- 1 in 417
- Tier
- Common
- U.S. rank
- 52nd
- Share of people
- 0.240%
- People named
- 892,769
- Most popular
- the 1990s
Based on U.S. births recorded by the Social Security Administration, 1880 to 2024. Figures describe recorded names, not people alive today.
About the name Emily
Emily comes from the Roman family name Aemilius, usually read as 'rival' or 'eager.' It was the number one American girls' name for twelve straight years starting in 1996, which is why it dominates that generation.
Want to check a different name? Try the Name Rarity Checker. First names are only half the picture: the surname rarity checker runs the same math on last names, using the Census surname file.
Frequently asked questions
- How rare is the name Emily?
- Emily is in the Common tier. About 1 in 417 people share it, which is 0.240% of all recorded U.S. names, and it ranks 52nd of all time. In total 892,769 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
- Is Emily a rare name?
- No. Emily is a well-known name rather than a rare one. It is in the Common tier, ranked 52nd of all time, with about 1 in 417 people sharing it.
- How common is the name Emily?
- About 1 in 417 people in U.S. records share the name Emily, which is 0.240% of all recorded names and 52nd of all time. That places it in the Common tier.
- Is Emily a boy or girl name?
- In the records, Emily is given almost entirely to girls. Of 892,769 people with the name, 890,970 were girls and 1,799 were boys.
- When was the name Emily most popular?
- Emily peaked in the 1990s. The bars on the card show its popularity for every decade from 1880 to 2024.