Emmalee
A feminine name combining "Emma," a German variation of the old French name Emmeline, meaning "universal," with the English "Lee," meaning "meadow."
Name Census estimates that about 8,606 living Americans carry the first name Emmalee. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Emmalee today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Emmalee births was 2005 (441 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Emmalee. 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.
People living today
8.6K
~ 1 in 39,827 Americans
Peak year
2005
441 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,773
Tracked since 1909
Popularity
Emmalee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Emmalee from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 3,596 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Emmalee 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 Emmalee during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Emmalees live
The SSA's state-level files cover 39 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Emmalee, while Maine, New Mexico, Maryland recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 167 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Emmalee
The name Emmalee is a combination of two distinct names, Emma and Lee. Emma is an ancient Germanic name derived from the word "ermen," which means "whole" or "universal." It was first recorded in the 9th century and gained popularity during the Middle Ages as a result of its association with several noble and influential figures.
The name Lee, on the other hand, has its roots in Old English and is derived from the word "leah," which means "meadow" or "clearing." It was often used as a surname and later became a common given name, particularly in English-speaking countries.
While the combination of Emma and Lee as Emmalee is a relatively modern invention, both names have a rich history and have been borne by notable individuals throughout the ages. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Emma was in the 11th century, when Emma of Normandy, the queen consort of England, Denmark, and Norway, lived from around 985 to 1052.
Another famous bearer of the name Emma was Emma Lazarus, an American poet and activist who was born in 1849 and is best known for her sonnet "The New Colossus," which is inscribed on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. Emma Goldman, a Russian-born political activist and writer, was also a prominent figure, living from 1869 to 1940.
As for the name Lee, it has been used by several influential figures, such as Robert E. Lee, the famous Confederate general during the American Civil War (1807-1870), and Bruce Lee, the legendary Hong Kong-American martial artist and actor (1940-1973).
Other notable individuals with the name Emmalee include Emmalee Robinson, an American singer-songwriter born in 1985, and Emmalee Wilcox, a Canadian actress and model.
While the combination of Emma and Lee as Emmalee is a relatively modern invention, both names have a rich and diverse history, spanning various cultures and time periods. The name Emmalee carries the essence of wholeness and universality from its Emma component, combined with the natural and pastoral connotations of Lee, creating a unique and harmonious blend of meanings.
People
Emmalee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Emmalee 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
Emmalee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Emmalee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 8,606 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Emmalee 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 39,827 US residents.
Is Emmalee a common name?
We classify Emmalee as "Rare". It ranks above 97.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 8,958 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Emmalee most popular?
The single biggest year for Emmalee was 2005, when 441 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Emmalee is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Emmalee a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Emmalee 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.
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.