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.
More common than 91% of names given to boys today.
22% of everyone ever named Emil was born in this single decade.
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 1,000Peak year
Current rank
Active since
Emil popularity over time — boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880
- Peak year (1917)
- 1,004
- Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
Currently ranks #1245 among boys.
32,939 total births across 145 years of SSA records. Peaked in 1917 with 1,004 births in a single year.
Emil popularity over time — girls
134 total births recorded since 1896 (Emil as girls' name)
Unisex use remains the minority pattern
The girls' variant of Emil accounts for 0% of total recorded use across both genders.
Emil by decade
Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance
- Peak decade
- 1920s
- 7,170 births that decade — 22% of Emil's all-time total
Emil decade highlights
- Peak decade 7,170 births
- Runner-up 6,701 births
- Modern era share 2010s + 2020s
- Decades tracked with recorded births
1920s was Emil's strongest decade
7,170 babies received the name during that ten-year window — about 22% of all-time use.
Emil by state
Where Emil concentrates geographically — total births since 1880
| 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% |
3,641 of 32,939 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 40 reporting states.
Top 5 states
- New York 11.1% of nationwide
- Illinois 7.7% of nationwide
- Pennsylvania 7.7% of nationwide
- New Jersey 6.0% of nationwide
- California 5.0% of nationwide
Recorded in 40 of 51 SSA jurisdictions
New York accounts for 11.1% of all recorded births nationwide — a relatively diffuse profile for this name.
Emil appears in 40 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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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.