Emily (given name)
The 19th-century poet Emily Dickinson | |
Pronunciation | /ˈɛməliː/ |
---|---|
Gender | Female |
Origin | |
Language(s) | Latin |
Meaning | Rival |
Other names | |
Related names |
Emily is a feminine given name derived from the Roman family name "Aemilius", and is the feminine form of the name Emil.[1]
Popularity
[edit]Emily has been a popular name in the English-speaking world, ranking among the most popular names in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. It held the position for over a decade[when?] as the most common name given to girls in the United States.[2] It has declined in usage in some countries but has remained a well-used name all over the world.[1]
The popularity of the name in the 1990s and early years of the 21st century has given the name an everywoman image for women in their twenties. As a result, the name has recently been used for a number of characters in film and television productions such as Emily the Criminal and Emily in Paris.[3] The name has also been used in an internet meme that satirizes progressive young white women.[4]
Name variants
[edit]Alternate forms include:
- Aemilia (Latin)
- Aemiliana (Latin)
- Aemilianus (Latin)
- Aemilius (Latin)
- Aimil (Scottish Gaelic)
- Aimilios (Greek)
- Aimilia (Greek)
- Ái My (Vietnamese)
- Amilia (English)
- Eemeli (Finnish)
- Eemi (Finnish)
- Eemil (Finnish)
- Eimíle (Irish)
- Emalee (English)
- Emelie (Swedish)
- Emiel (Dutch)
- Emily (English, Indonesian)
- Emil (Bulgarian), (Croatian), (Czech), (Danish), (English), (German), (Hungarian), (Icelandic), (Indonesian), (Macedonian), (Norwegian), (Polish), (Romanian), (Russian), (Serbian), (Slovak), (Slovene), (Swedish)
- Émile (French)
- Emilee (English)
- Emili (Catalan)
- Emili (Hebrew), (Hungarian)
- Emília (Hungarian), (Portuguese), (Slovak)
- Emilía (Icelandic)
- Emilia (Bulgarian), (Danish), (English), (Finnish), (German), (Indonesian), (Italian), (Norwegian), (Polish), (Romanian), (Spanish), (Swedish)
- Emilian (Polish), (Romanian)
- Emiliana (Italian), Indonesian, (Portuguese), (Spanish)
- Emiliano (Italian), (Spanish)
- Émilie (French)
- Emílie (Czech)
- Emilie (Danish), (German), (Norwegian), (Swedish)
- Émilien (French)
- Émilienne (French)
- Emīlija (Latvian)
- Emilija (Croatian), (Lithuanian), (Macedonian), (Serbian), (Slovene)
- Emílio (Portuguese)
- Emilio (Italian), (Spanish)
- Emilios (Greek)
- Emilis (Lithuanian)
- Emiliya (Bulgarian)
- Emīlija (Latvian)
- Emlyn (Welsh)
- Emmi (Finnish)
- Emmie (English)
- Emmy (English), (French), (Indonesian)
- Emiri/えみり(Japanese)
- Emy (French), (Indonesian)
- Milja (Finnish)
- Mille (Danish), (Norwegian), (Swedish)
- Millie (English)
- Milly (English), (Indonesian), (Norwegian), (Swedish)
- Yemelyan (Russian)
People with the name
[edit]Academics
[edit]- Emily Ying Yang Chan (born 1974), Hong Kong SAR academic
- Emily Wick (1921–2013), American chemist at MIT
Actresses
[edit]- Emily Barclay (born 1984), New Zealand actress
- Emily Beecham (born 1984), English actress
- Emily Blunt (born 1983), English actress
- Emily Booth (born 1976), English actress and TV presenter
- Emily Browning (born 1988), Australian actress
- Emily Burnett (born 1996), Welsh actress
- Emily Coutts (born 1989), Canadian actress
- Emily Deschanel (born 1976), American actress
- Emily Gimmel (born 1984), American journalist and TV personality
- Emily Hampshire (born 1981), Canadian actress
- Emily Joyce (born 1969), British actress
- Emily Kagan (born 1981), American mixed martial artist
- Emily Kinney (born 1985), American actress, singer, and songwriter
- Emily Lloyd (born 1970), British actress
- Emily Lloyd-Saini, British actress, broadcaster, writer and comedian
- Emily Mortimer (born 1971), English actress
- Emily Osment (born 1992), American actress and singer, best known for playing a character in Hannah Montana
- Emily Perkins (born 1977), Canadian actress
- Emily Procter (born 1968), American actress
- Emily Ratajkowski (born 1991), American actress
- Emily Bett Rickards (born 1991), Canadian actress
- Emily Robins (born 1989), New Zealand actress
- Emily Rose (actress) (born 1981), American actress
- Emily Rutherfurd (born 1974), American actress
- Emily or Emma Stone (born 1988), American actress
- Emily VanCamp (born 1986), Canadian actress
- Emily Watson (born 1967), English actress
Musicians
[edit]- Emily Bauer (born 1981), American singer
- Emily Haines (born 1974), Canadian indie rock singer-songwriter
- Emily Magee (born 1968), American soprano
- Emily Remler (1957–1990), American jazz guitarist
- Emily Robison (born 1972), American songwriter
- Emily Saliers (born 1963), American singer-songwriter
- Emily Smith (singer) (born 1981), Scottish folk singer
- Emily Wong (born 1990), Chinese singer and actress
Sportswomen
[edit]- Emily Cross (born 1986), American foil fencer
- Emily Csikos (born 1988), Canadian water polo player
- Emily van Egmond (born 1993), Australian footballer
- Emily Gielnik (born 1992), Australian footballer
- Emily Gillam (born 1977), New Zealand field hockey player
- Emily Hughes (born 1989), American figure skater
- Emily Jacobson (born 1985), American saber fencer
- Emily Kukors (born 1985), American swimmer
- Emily LeSueur (born 1972), American synchronized swimmer
- Emily Oberst (born 1998), American wheelchair basketball player
- Emily Samuelson (born 1990), American figure skater
- Emily Seebohm (born 1992), Australian swimmer
- Emily Silver (born 1985), American swimmer
- Emily Hood Westacott (1910–1980), Australian tennis player
- Emily Westwood (born 1984), English football player
- Emily Whitehead (born 2000), Australian artistic gymnast
Writers
[edit]- Emily Barton (born 1969), American novelist
- Emily Bazelon (born 1971), American journalist
- Emily Lucas Blackall (1832–1892), American writer, philanthropist
- Emily St. John Bouton (1837–1927), American educator, journalist, author, editor
- Emily Brontë (1818–1848), English novelist, author of Wuthering Heights
- Emily Carr (1871–1945), Canadian artist and writer
- Emily Thornton Charles (1845–1895), American poet, journalist, suffragist, newspaper founder
- Emily Dickinson (1830–1886), American poet
- Emily Steele Elliott (1836–1897), English religious writer
- Emily Gerard (1849–1905), Scottish author
- Emily Goodrich Smith (1830–1903), American newspaper correspondent
- Emily Gravett (born 1972), British children's author and illustrator
- Emily Lowe (died 1882), British travel writer
- Emily Arnold McCully (born 1939), American children's author
- Emily Julian McManus (1865–1918), Canadian poet, author, and educator
- Emily Mkamanga (1949–2021), Malawian writer and social commentator
- Emily Cheney Neville (1919–1997), American author
- Emily Sullivan Oakey (1829–1883), American educator, author, poet, hymnist
- Emily Rebecca Page (1823–1908), American poet
- Emily Augusta Patmore (1824–1862),British author, Pre-Raphaelite muse, inspiration for poem The Angel in the House.
- Emily Perkins (novelist) (born 1970), New Zealand author
- Emily Jane Pfeiffer (1827–1890), Welsh poet, philanthropist
- Emily Post (1872–1960), American author on etiquette
- Emily Prager, American author and journalist
- Emily Lee Sherwood Ragan (1839–1916), American author, journalist
- Emily Smith (author), British children's author
- Emily Elizabeth Veeder (1841–1898), American author
Others
[edit]- Emily Ayckbowm (1836–1900), English founder of the Community of the Sisters of the Church
- Emily Bisharat (died 2004), Jordanian suffragette, philanthropist, and the first female lawyer in the Kingdom of Jordan
- Emily Blackwell (1826–1910), American academic
- Emily Blathwayt (1852–1940), British suffragette, mother of Mary Blathwayt
- Emily Rose Bleby (1849–1917), Jamaican-born British temperance reformer
- Emily Brooke (born 1985), British inventor
- Emmelia of Caesarea or Saint Emily (died 375), mother of Basil the Great
- Emily Callaway (fl.2022), American politician
- Emily Parmely Collins (1814–1909), American suffragist, activist, writer
- Emily M. J. Cooley (1831–1917), American religious and temperance leader
- Emily Davison (1872–1913), British suffragette
- Emily Dievendorf, American politician
- Emily Donelson (1807–1836), daughter-in-law of and First Lady under Andrew Jackson
- Emily Greene Balch (1867–1961), American academic, pacifist and Nobel Laureate
- Emily Harris, terrorist with the Symbionese Liberation Army
- Emily Hobhouse (1860–1926), British welfare campaigner
- Emily Caroline Chandler Hodgin (1838–1907), American temperance reformer
- Emily Kame Kngwarreye (1910–1996), indigenous Australian artist
- Emily L. Loveridge (1860–1941), American nurse, educator, school founder, and hospital superintendent
- Emily Waita Macharia (born 1979), Kenyan public relations officer
- Emily Morse (born 1970), American sex therapist, author, and media personality
- Emily Murphy (1868–1933), Canadian feminist
- Emily Pankhurst (1858–1928), English political activist and leader of the British suffragette movement
- Emily Austin Perry (1795–1851), Texas historical figure
- Emily McGary Selinger (1848–1927), American painter, writer, poet, educator
- Emily Shenkl (1910–1996), a leader in the Indian Independence Movement
- Emily Sherwin, American law professor
- Emily Pitts Stevens (1841–1906), American educator, activist, editor, publisher
- Emily Taylor (1795–1872), English schoolmistress, poet, children's writer, hymnwriter
- Emily Vontz (born 2000), German politician
- Emily Waheneka (1919–2008), Native American artist
- Emily Wong (born 1992), known as Emi Wong, Hong Kong YouTuber who makes fitness, lifestyle, and travelling videos
- Emily Kathryn Wyant (1897–1942), American mathematician
- Emily Young (born 1951), British sculptor
- Emily Young (film director) (born 1970), English film director and screenwriter
- Sagufta Yasmin Emily, Bangladesh Awami League politician and Member of Parliament
Fictional characters
[edit]- Emily (Emelye), the maiden whose hand cousins Arcite and Palamon compete for in The Knight's Tale
- Emily Arrow, main female character in Patricia Reilly Giff’s Polk Street School series
- Emily, a character in Thomas & Friends
- Emily Barham, the female lead in the 1964 film The Americanization of Emily, played by Julie Andrews
- Emily Bartlett, heroine of Beverly Cleary's Emily's Runaway Imagination
- Emily Bennett, in the CW fantasy-drama TV series The Vampire Diaries
- Emily Bennett, American Girl character, best friend of Molly McIntire
- Emily Bishop, in the British soap opera Coronation Street
- Emily Byrne, main character of the Absentia TV series
- Emily Chester, title character of the 1864 American novel by Anne Moncure Crane
- Emily Davis, one of eight protagonists in the survival horror game Until Dawn
- Emily Drozynski, main character in the western drama Yellowstone (American TV series)
- Emily Dyer, a survivor in the video game Identity V
- Emily-Elizabeth, in the PBS animated preschool TV and book series Clifford the Big Red Dog, voiced by Grey DeLisle
- Emily the Emerald Fairy, in the Rainbow Magic book franchise
- Emily Eyefinger, main character of the Emily Eyefinger series about a girl with an eye on her finger
- Emily Fields, major character in the TV series Pretty Little Liars
- Emily Fitch, in the TV series Skins
- Emily Gilmore, in the TV series Gilmore Girls
- Emily Grierson, main character of William Faulkner's short story "A Rose for Emily"
- Emily Kaldwin, of Dishonored series
- Emily Morgen in the TV series Prison Break
- Emily Nelson, main character from A Simple Favour
- Emily Pollifax, heroine of The Mrs. Pollifax series of spy-mystery novels by Dorothy Gilman
- Emily Prentiss, on the CBS crime drama Criminal Minds
- Emily Rose, the lead character of the film Exorcism of Emily Rose
- Emily Quartermaine, on the ABC soap opera General Hospital
- Emily Byrd Starr, heroine of L. Maud Montgomery's Emily of New Moon novels
- Emily Stewart, in The Idolmaster Million Live!
- Emily Thorne, main character in the TV drama Revenge
- Emily Valentine, a character in Beverly Hills, 90210
- Emily Waltham, Ross's second wife in NBC sitcom Friends
- Emily Windsnap, main character in a series of novels by Liz Kessler
- Emily Young, in Twilight (novel series)
- Emily the Strange, cartoon character and merchandising mascot
- Emily, in the Nickelodeon TV series Power Rangers Samurai
- Emily, a.k.a. Miyuki Hoshizora, protagonist of Glitter Force/Smile PreCure!
See also
[edit]- Amelia (given name)
- Emil (given name)
- Emilee (given name)
- Emilia (given name)
- Émilie, a French feminine given name
- Emilie Meng (1998–2016), Danish teenager who was murdered
- Emilio (given name)
- Emma (given name)
Notes
[edit]- ^ a b Campbell, Mike. "Meaning, origin and history of the name Emily". Behind the Name. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
- ^ Social Security Administration
- ^ Petrarca, Emilia (5 April 2023). "It's Time to Address the Emily in the Room". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
- ^ "Emily BLM ACAB is Typing". know your meme.com. Knowyourmeme.com. 14 April 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2023.