Emi
A Japanese feminine name meaning "blessed with beauty".
Name Census estimates that about 3,909 living Americans carry the first name Emi. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Emi today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Emi births was 2024 (259 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Emi. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Emi with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Emi is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 17 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
3.9K
~ 1 in 87,683 Americans
Peak year
2024
259 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#994
Tracked since 1916
Census
Emi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,587 people with the first name Emi, which placed it at #4,182 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#4,182
National first-name rank
People counted
4.6K
4,587 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
41.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Emi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Emi is Asian/Pacific Islander at 41.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (20.5%) and Hispanic (18.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Emi described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Emi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander41.1% · 1,885
- Two or more races20.5% · 939
- Hispanic or Latino18.1% · 828
- White18.0% · 824
- Black or African American2.3% · 104
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 7
Popularity
Emi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Emi from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,522 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Emi remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Emi by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Emi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Emis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 22 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Emi, while Ohio, Missouri, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 101 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Emi
The name Emi has its origins in Japanese culture, where it is a feminine given name. The name is derived from the Japanese word "emi," which means "beautiful blessing" or "smile." It is a relatively modern name that gained popularity in Japan in the late 20th century.
In Japanese mythology, Emi is also the name of a minor goddess associated with beauty and fertility. Although not a prominent figure in ancient texts, her name may have contributed to the appeal of the name Emi for parents seeking a name with positive connotations.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Emi dates back to the late 19th century. Emi Fibiger, born in 1868, was a Danish film actress and one of the first female movie stars in Denmark. She appeared in numerous silent films during the early days of Danish cinema.
In the realm of literature, Emi Wada, born in 1891, was a Japanese novelist and essayist known for her works exploring the lives of women in early 20th-century Japan. Her novel "Oshare Musume" ("A Modern Girl") was a notable work that challenged traditional gender roles.
Emi Howe, born in 1901, was a Japanese-American artist and sculptor best known for her ceramic works. She played a significant role in introducing Japanese artistic traditions to the United States and was a pioneer in promoting cross-cultural exchange through art.
Emi Sunada, born in 1914, was a Japanese singer and actress who achieved stardom in the post-World War II era. She was known for her powerful vocal range and her ability to perform both traditional Japanese music and contemporary pop songs.
Emi Sakahara, born in 1937, is a Japanese politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives for several terms. She has been a vocal advocate for women's rights and has worked to promote gender equality in Japanese politics and society.
These individuals, spanning different eras and fields, have contributed to the rich history and cultural significance of the name Emi. While its origins are rooted in Japanese tradition, the name has transcended borders and gained recognition worldwide, reflecting its enduring appeal and positive connotations.
People
Emi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Emi as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Emi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Emi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,909 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Emi going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 87,683 US residents.
Is Emi a common name?
We classify Emi as "Rare". It ranks above 95.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,055 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Emi most popular?
The single biggest year for Emi was 2024, when 259 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Emi is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Emi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,587 people with the name Emi, or 1.52 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,182 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Emi in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Emi?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Emi leans strongly female. 4,450 people counted with this name were female (96.8%), compared with 145 male bearers (3.2%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Emi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Emi is Asian/Pacific Islander at 41.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (20.5%) and Hispanic (18.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Emi most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Emi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 41.1% (1,885 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Emi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Emi a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Emi in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Emi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Emi in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Emi can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Emi?
Want to know how many Americans are named Emi? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.