US rank #1245 Boys' name Peak 1917 32,939 births

Emil — #1245 US boys' name

32,939 babies named Emil in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1917. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s14341890s14381900s13191910s67011920s71701930s35181940s24981950s18601960s12671970s9631980s8091990s8372000s10472010s12412020s837
#1245
of 14,243 boys in use

More common than 91% of names given to boys today.

1920s
Peak decade

22% of everyone ever named Emil was born in this single decade.

1917
Single peak year

1,004 babies were named Emil in 1917 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Emil

The Social Security Administration has registered 32,939 babies named Emil between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Emil currently holds the #1245 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1917, when 1,004 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Emil performed strongest in the 1920s, accumulating 7,170 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Emil shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in New York, which accounts for 3,641 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Illinois and Pennsylvania. In total, SSA state-level files list Emil in 40 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Emil in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 32,939 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Emil at a glance

Outside the top 1,000

Total births

32,939

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1917

1,004 births that year

Strongest decade: 1920s

Current rank

#1,245

Among boys

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Emil popularity over time — boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (1917)
1,004
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
05001,0001,500 202420051986196719481929191018911880 119

Emil popularity over time — girls

134 total births recorded since 1896 (Emil as girls' name)

Unisex variant — 134 births
456789 19601931192819251922191919141896 5

Emil by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1920s
Peak decade
1920s
7,170 births that decade — 22% of Emil's all-time total
1880s14341890s14381900s13191910s67011920s71701930s35181940s24981950s18601960s12671970s9631980s8091990s8372000s10472010s12412020s837

Emil by state

Where Emil concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Emil
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 New York
3,641 11.1%
#2 Illinois
2,550 7.7%
#3 Pennsylvania
2,537 7.7%
#4 New Jersey
1,989 6.0%
#5 California
1,655 5.0%
#6 Texas
1,534 4.7%
#7 Ohio
1,435 4.4%
#8 Wisconsin
1,206 3.7%
New York share of Emil's total US births 11.1%
Even split

3,641 of 32,939 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 40 reporting states.

Emil appears in 40 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Emil?
32,939 babies have been named Emil since 1880. It currently ranks #1245 among boys. The peak year was 1917 with 1,004 births.
When was Emil most popular?
Emil was most popular in the 1920s decade with 7,170 total births. The single peak year was 1917.
Where is Emil most popular?
The top states for the name Emil are New York (3,641 births), Illinois (2,550 births), Pennsylvania (2,537 births).
How long has the name Emil been used?
Emil has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Emil?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Emilio, Emiliano, Emile, Emir, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Keep exploring Emil

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Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.