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

Emily, 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 Emily surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Emily in America

Emily is the 26727th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Emily surname appeared 911 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 Emily.

We can also compare 2010 data for Emily 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.

The history of the last name Emily

The surname Emily does not have a long-established history as a family name, but rather originated as a given name derived from the Old German word "amal" meaning "labor" or "industrious." The name Emily first emerged during the medieval period in parts of Europe, particularly France and Germany.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Emily can be found in the 12th century French epic poem "The Song of Roland," where a character named Aemilie is mentioned. However, this was likely a romanticized version of the name used for literary purposes rather than an actual surname.

It wasn't until the 16th and 17th centuries that Emily began to gain popularity as a given name, particularly among the nobility and upper classes in England. One notable figure from this period was Emily Montagu (1692-1788), a British author and poet who was part of the literary circle known as the Bluestockings.

In the 18th century, the name Emily became more widespread across various social classes in England and other parts of Europe. During this time, it began to be adopted as a surname, albeit infrequently. One early example is Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), the renowned American poet who is considered one of the most influential figures in English literature.

Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, Emily continued to be used primarily as a given name, with some instances of it being adopted as a surname. One notable figure from this period was Emily Carr (1871-1945), a Canadian artist and writer who is known for her remarkable depictions of the indigenous peoples and landscapes of the Pacific Northwest.

Another significant figure with the surname Emily was Emily Wilding Davison (1872-1913), a British suffragette who famously sacrificed her life for the women's suffrage movement by stepping in front of King George V's horse at the Epsom Derby in 1913.

While not a common surname, Emily has been carried on by a few notable individuals throughout history, such as Emily Greene Balch (1867-1961), an American writer and pacifist who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1946, and Emily Hahn (1905-1997), an American writer and adventurer who was one of the first female explorers to travel extensively in the remote regions of China and Mongolia.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Emily

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

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 Emily was:

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 Emily has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

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 Emily was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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