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emily
origin: English
meaning: To Strive or Excel or Rival
Oh, Emily. After a 12-year run beginning in ’96 as the number one name in America, it was finally knocked from its perch by Emma in ’08. It’s still hugely popular though and not just in America. From New Zealand to the United Kingdom, English-speaking countries all over the world love the name. And remember, it’s not just this year’s popularity charts you need to think about -- those 12 years worth of Emilys are still running around out there. It’s not so popular without reason though. Emily is classic, simple, pretty, and feminine -- but strong. Good news for parents who love the name but can’t deal with the popularity -- there’s a variation in almost every language, from the French Amelie to the Slavic Emika.
current U.S. popularity rank: 2010: 3
Famous emily
- Emily Dickinson - author
- Emily Blunt - actress
- Emily Bronte - author
- Emily Deschanel - actress
- Emily Gilmore - character in Gilmore Girls
Infamous emily
- Emily Valentine - character in the original 90210
- Emily Rose - title character in The Exorcism of Emily Rose
overall rating
the name emily...
1886 times
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I'm Emily Lauren. I've always loved my name and although it is popular I don't meet many others or hear the name often. :-) Great name!
by Emmylou_whoHailey
by AurmcMy seven year old is Emily Marie she knows one other Emily who is her best friend and lives next door to us! Its not all too common around here but there are a fee Emily's in her school and one in my oldest daughters class. Regardless it will always be my favorite name!
by cutieleMy Emily Rae was born on October 7th 2012 <3
by emilysmommy07I lovee this named i named my daughter emily sophia<3
by ashleyryan13I Love Emily Anne Or Emily Elaine, Also Love Emily May
by khinesley66My baby girls name is going to be Emily Faye
by erin091909my future daughter's name <3
by brsfc7I love the name Emily ,I gave my older daughter the name Emily Hope because I like what the name means and it is a really pretty name :)
by kat&myles28I think the name Emily is smart, classic and well-educated. I don't like it when parents think such a beautiful name is too common and instead opt for something more trendy and predictable which will become outdated soon such as Emmelyn or Emma-Leigh or Emmaleigh. Just stick with Emily. Your daughter will thank you when she's old enough and she's surrounded by adults with 2012 ~trendy~ names.
by vikkistarI feel like this name has become too common. Similar-sounding, less popular names could be Emmeline, Emiliana, Emlen, Lyra, Leah, Leighton, Marley, etc.
by OxfordComma1019Classic name. Cannot think of a single Emily that I do not like ;)
by honeypie1I just had a suprise Emily Sophia:) Its such a pretty name:) Very girly:):)
by ashleyryan13I'm an Emily and go by Emmi. I love my name and despite the supposed popularity, I very rarely meet other Emilys (or is that Emilies?). I'd always heard it meant industrious or energetic. If we ever have a daughter, I hope to use Emily as her middle name.
by emmiandjamesMy mother-in-law had a dream about her son who passed away and he was holding a sign in this dream that said emily ryannaah. I'm currently pregnant with my 4th child. I have 3 boys. Hoping for a baby girl this time :) I never really thought about naming a girl emily, but the more I think about it, the more I like it.
by fraser03like it
by beesneezeThat's funny! My daughter's name is Emily Mae!
by diabetic20+my little 'emily' is due July 23rd 2012!! :) cant wait to meet her for the first time!
by sarnahjimIf our baby is a girl her name will be Emmaleigh Mae.
by anv91im only 16 and i know tons of emilys besides me
by eventuallymoreI love this name!!! Really didn't like it at first but my hubby did and now it has grown on me and we have decided it will be our little girls name :)
by loladevriesMy fave. We are going with Emalee
by kougioulisWhen I became pregnant with my second daughter we struggled picking a name. My husband wanted Addison, which I was not fond of and I wanted to name her Nevaeh. My oldest daughter, who is 12, chose the name Emily. However, I cannot do anything the "normal" way when it comes to naming my children. My oldest daughter's name is Katelynn Abree Marie and then my newborn, who is 10 weeks old is named Emmeleigh Ann Marie. I have gotten so many compliments on how I have spelled Emmeleigh. We call her Em for short and I tend to call my oldest Abree more. I can see rival being in my little one, thats if she has my overly strong willed personality.
by sshakerebecca
by janneth99I understand why people love it so much- it is my own name and I am very proud to have it- but it annoys me that Emily and Emma are so popular. It just seems like people are lemmings and have no originality.
by emily-rebekahMy girls have pretty, versatile, classic yet fun names, I think. My oldest is Lauren and my youngest is Emily. I heard Lauren was popular after I named her, but haven't met one yet, and Emily is supposedly popular, but haven't heard of or met any yet either. I have a very untraditional name, and I hope the girls will appreciate the simplicity and flexibility of their names. They both have more 'trendy' middle names (Lauren Elise and Emily Harper) they can chose from should they hate their given names though. ;)
by shabbyplumI liked the name until I read "rival" as one of the meanings. I'm expecting our 2nd baby and we're waiting until birth to find out the gender. We have a little girl already and one of the fears I have about having another girl is that they'll be rivals.... I would love my girls to be the best of friends.
by amominashncThis wasn't my first (or even second or third) choice for a name for our (hopefully future) daughter, but my husband loves it. :-) I'm coming around to it
by asweeney07Such a lovely name! Top of my list for my upcoming baby!
by camplee186While I still love the name Emily, I feel that is has been overpopularized in recent years. I would not consider it now. I think all these Emily girls will feel like all the Ashley, Jessica, and Amanda girls who were born in the 1980s.
by MrsM2BiAmLove this name <3
by MamaCyrahIf its a girl ill name her emily :)
by mayrap1992I adore it!
by andylarkin >> View all comments >> Collapse