Emiliah
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "the persevering one".
Name Census estimates that about 95 living Americans carry the first name Emiliah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Emiliah today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Emiliah births was 2019 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Emiliah. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Emiliah. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
95
~ 1 in 3,607,940 Americans
Peak year
2019
13 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,491
Tracked since 2009
Popularity
Emiliah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Emiliah from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 56 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Emiliah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Emiliah 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 Emiliah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Emiliah
The name Emiliah is a relatively modern feminine name that has gained popularity in recent decades, particularly in English-speaking countries. Its origins, however, can be traced back to various linguistic roots and cultural influences.
One possible derivation of Emiliah is from the Germanic name Amaliah, which combines the elements "amal" meaning "work, labor" and "iah" derived from the name of the Germanic god Iah. Amaliah was a name borne by several medieval German nobility, including Amaliah of Zweibrücken-Landsberg (1598-1644), a German countess and regent.
Another potential source is the Latin name Aemilia, which was derived from the Roman family name Aemilius. The Aemilii were a prominent patrician family in ancient Rome, and the name may have originated from the Latin word "aemulus" meaning "rival" or "eager." One notable historical figure was Aemilia Lepida (circa 8 BC - 14 AD), a Roman noblewoman and the second wife of the Roman emperor Drusus.
Some linguists also suggest a connection to the Hebrew name Emunah, which means "faith" or "belief." This name has biblical roots and appears in the Book of Proverbs as a personification of faithfulness.
In terms of historical figures bearing the name Emiliah or its variants, one can mention:
1. Emilia Plater (1806-1831), a Polish-Lithuanian noble and revolutionary during the November Uprising against the Russian Empire.
2. Emilia Pardo Bazán (1851-1921), a Spanish novelist, journalist, and pioneer of modern feminism in Spain.
3. Amelia Earhart (1897-1937), the famous American aviation pioneer and the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
4. Amelia Opie (1769-1853), an English author and one of the pioneers of the novel genre.
5. Amelia Bloomer (1818-1894), an American women's rights and temperance advocate, best known for introducing the "bloomer" dress, which allowed more freedom of movement for women.
While the name Emiliah has gained popularity in recent times, it carries a rich tapestry of cultural and linguistic influences, ranging from ancient Rome and Germanic roots to biblical references and historical figures who have left an indelible mark on various fields throughout history.
People
Emiliah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Emiliah 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
Emiliah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Emiliah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 95 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Emiliah 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 3,607,940 US residents.
Is Emiliah a common name?
We classify Emiliah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 96 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Emiliah most popular?
The single biggest year for Emiliah was 2019, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Emiliah is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Emiliah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Emiliah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Emiliah 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 Emiliah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Emiliah 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 Emiliah 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Emiliah?
Want to know how many Americans are named Emiliah? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.