Emily

Emily meaning

Emily is a Christian and international girl's name of Latin origin.

From Aemilius, a Roman clan name, derived from aemulor, to rival

Also used to mean: industrious

Emily is the English form of Aemilia, the feminine of Aemilius, the name of a Roman clan that Lewis and Short's Latin dictionary describes as famous for its distinguished men, among them the general Lucius Aemilius Paulus. The same dictionary traces Aemilius to aemulor, to rival or strive to equal someone, a verb that in its good sense means to emulate. Name lists give "rival", in line with this, and sometimes "industrious", which is not a sense of the Latin word. Emily is not a biblical name. One of its best-known bearers is the English novelist Emily Brontë, author of Wuthering Heights.

Source: Lewis & Short, A Latin Dictionary (1879), s.v. Aemilius · entry Aemilius · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026

References: Lewis & Short, Aemilius (alatius.com) · Lewis & Short, aemulor (alatius.com) · Britannica, Emily Brontë

Famous namesakes

• Emily Brontë, English novelist

Popularity abroad

• #34 United States, girls 2025 (down 9 from 25 in 2024)
  US Social Security Administration
• #44 England and Wales, girls 2025
  Office for National Statistics

Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.

Spellings

Emily · Emilie · Emely

Related names

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