Emil last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Emil is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Emil.

Meaning of Emil

A surname derived from the Germanic given name Emil, meaning "laborer" or "hard worker".

Emil, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Emil surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Emil in America

Emil is the 74141st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Emil surname appeared 261 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Emil.

We can also compare 2010 data for Emil to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

20102000Change (%)
Rank74141722372.60%
Count2612513.91%
Proportion per 100k0.090.090.00%

The history of the last name Emil

The surname EMIL is of German origin, derived from the Germanic word "amal," which means "labor" or "hardworking." It first appeared in historical records around the 12th century in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony, where it was often spelled as "Emmel" or "Emmele."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name EMIL can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony, where a person named "Emmelo de Lipsia" (Emmelo of Leipzig) was mentioned in a charter dated 1182.

In the 13th century, the name EMIL appeared in various forms, such as "Emmelich" and "Emmerike," in several German towns and villages, including Aachen, Cologne, and Nuremberg. It was often associated with skilled craftsmen and laborers, reflecting the name's original meaning.

During the Renaissance period, several notable individuals bore the surname EMIL. One of them was Johann EMIL (1528-1594), a German painter and engraver from Nuremberg, best known for his portraits and religious works.

Another prominent figure was Gottfried EMIL (1673-1744), a German jurist and legal scholar from Saxony, who served as a judge and wrote several treatises on civil law.

In the 18th century, the surname EMIL gained prominence with figures like Johann Gottfried EMIL (1701-1776), a German composer and organist from Thuringia, who contributed to the development of the Classical period in music.

During the 19th century, the name EMIL was associated with several intellectuals and scientists. One notable example was Theodor EMIL (1813-1867), a German chemist and physicist from Saxony, who made significant contributions to the field of optics and spectroscopy.

Another prominent figure was Max EMIL (1848-1923), a German philosopher and psychologist from Berlin, known for his work in the field of experimental psychology and his contributions to the study of perception and attention.

Throughout its history, the surname EMIL has been linked to various places and regions, such as the towns of Emmelshausen and Emmelsbuell in Germany, as well as the village of Emmelkamp in the Netherlands, which likely derived their names from individuals bearing the surname EMIL.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Emil

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Emil.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Emil was:

Race/EthnicityPercentageTotal Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only73.95%193
Non-Hispanic Black Only4.98%13
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only13.03%34
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races6.51%17
Hispanic Origin(S)%(S)

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Emil has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

20102000Change (%)
White73.95%82.07%-10.41%
Black4.98%2.39%70.28%
Asian and Pacific Islander13.03%6.37%68.66%
American Indian and Alaskan Native(S)%0.00%(S)%
Two or More Races6.51%3.98%48.24%
Hispanic(S)%5.18%(S)%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Emil was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Emil, please contact us.

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