Total births
896,487
Girls' name · since 1880
Emily
Emily has 896,487 recorded births since 1880 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1999 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #25
- among girls today
- 896,487
- born since 1880
- 1990s
- peak decade
- 99.9%
- more common than other girls
Emily currently ranks #25 among girls' names in America, with 896,487 babies recorded since 1880.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Emily has been recorded 896,487 times among girls since 1880, currently ranked #25 nationally and more common than 99.9% of girls, with its heaviest use in the 1990s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #25 among girls today
- 896,487 born since 1880
- 1990s peak decade
- 99.9% more common than other girls
Data updated Jun 2026
The verdict
Emily is currently the #25 girls' name in America, more common than 99.9% of girls - 896,487 born since 1880, peaking in the 1990s.
- #25
- among girls today
- 896,487
- born since 1880
- 1990s
- peak decade
- 99.9%
- more common than other girls
Emily vs. every other girls name in current SSA rankings
#25
of 17,726 girls in use
More common than 99.9% of names given to girls today.
1990s
Peak decade
26% of everyone ever named Emily was born in this single decade.
1999
Single peak year
26,542 babies were named Emily in 1999 - its busiest year on record.
How Emily compares
896,487 Top 0% higher than 100% of 17,726 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Emily's all-time total is 2,347x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Emily | Median girls name (Emerly) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 896,487 | 382 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 26,542 | 48 | 19,840 |
Emily's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Emily's full recorded timeline at 1953, 91% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 9% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1880, with just 210 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1999 peak of 26,542 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Emily at a glance
Top 100 girls' namePeak year
1999
Current rank
#25
Active since
1880
Emily popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1999)
- 26,542
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Emily popularity over time - boys
1,809 total births recorded since 1896 (Emily as boys' name)
Emily by decade
Total births in each ten-year window, peak vs trough at a glance
1990s was Emily's strongest decade.
237,262 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 26% of all-time use.
Emily births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 3,368
1880s
3,368 births
- 1890s 5,476
1890s
5,476 births
- 1900s 6,423
1900s
6,423 births
- 1910s 17,069
1910s
17,069 births
- 1920s 18,754
1920s
18,754 births
- 1930s 11,916
1930s
11,916 births
- 1940s 13,409
1940s
13,409 births
- 1950s 12,839
1950s
12,839 births
- 1960s 12,332
1960s
12,332 births
- 1970s 46,839
1970s
46,839 births
- 1980s
1980s
131,764 births
- 1990s
1990s
237,262 births
- 2000s
2000s
223,768 births
- 2010s
2010s
117,646 births
- 2020s 37,622
2020s
37,622 births
What this shows Peak: 1990s at 237,262 births (26% of all-time use).
How Emily compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Emily's total volume
Emily vs 15 similarly-sized girls names
Emily by state
Where Emily concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 98,899 | 11.0% |
| #2 | Texas | | 67,421 | 7.5% |
| #3 | New York | | 59,781 | 6.7% |
| #4 | Pennsylvania | | 42,409 | 4.7% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 40,820 | 4.6% |
| #6 | Ohio | | 38,923 | 4.3% |
| #7 | Florida | | 37,099 | 4.1% |
| #8 | Michigan | | 30,847 | 3.4% |
California share of Emily's total US births 11.0%
Even split
98,899 of 896,487 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Emily appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Emily? ▼
896,487 babies have been named Emily since 1880. It currently ranks #25 among girls. The peak year was 1999 with 26,542 births.
When was Emily most popular? ▼
Emily was most popular in the 1990s decade with 237,262 total births. The single peak year was 1999.
Where is Emily most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Emily are California (98,899 births), Texas (67,421 births), New York (59,781 births).
How long has the name Emily been used? ▼
Records for Emily go back to 1880, giving 146 years of history through 2025.
What names are similar to Emily? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Emilia, Emilie, Emilee, Emi, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.
What to do with Emily's data
- Emily's decade-level peak was the 1990s (237,262 total births); usage has since declined to 37,622 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Emilys (98,899 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
- Weighing it against an alternative? Put two names side by side. Compare names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Emily
Nearby Names Like Emily
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Emily
Emilia Girl
#43 69,076 births
Emilie Girl
#1390 26,654 births
Emilee Girl
#1699 24,019 births
Emi Girl
#995 4,360 births
Emiliana Girl
#892 3,684 births
Compare Emily side by side: Emily vs Emilia Emily vs Emilie Emily vs Emilee
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Emily
Data Sources
Data as of June 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Cite this page
NameAlmanac Editorial. "Emily: #25 Girls' Name - 896,487 Births, Peak 1999." NameAlmanac. Accessed via https://namealmanac.com/name/emily. Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Emily draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.