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

Emslie, 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 Emslie surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Emslie in America

Emslie is the 52482nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Emslie surname appeared 395 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 Emslie.

We can also compare 2010 data for Emslie 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 Emslie

The surname Emslie originates from Scotland and can be traced back to the early 13th century. It is a locational name derived from the lands of Emslie or Enderlick in the county of Banffshire. The name is believed to have evolved from the Old Norse word "enni," meaning "forehead" or "ridge," and the Old English word "leah," meaning "meadow" or "clearing."

The earliest recorded instance of the name appears in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, where Alexander de Enderlick is mentioned as swearing allegiance to King Edward I of England. This document provides evidence of the name's Scottish origins and its connection to the Banffshire region.

In the 16th century, records show the name spelled as Enderlick, Enderlie, and Enderly, reflecting the variations in spelling common during that era. One notable bearer of the name was John Enderly, a merchant and burgess of Aberdeen, who was mentioned in the town's records in 1538.

As the name spread beyond its original geographic location, it took on various spellings, including Emslie, Emsley, and Empsley. In the 17th century, the Emslie spelling became more prevalent, as evidenced by the birth of William Emslie in Aberdeen in 1673.

One of the earliest notable figures with the surname Emslie was Sir James Emslie (1737-1808), a Scottish merchant and landowner who served as Lord Provost of Aberdeen from 1791 to 1793. Another notable Emslie was James Emslie (1789-1866), a Scottish minister and theologian who served as the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1848.

In the 19th century, the Emslie name continued to be associated with Scotland, with several individuals achieving prominence. John Emslie (1813-1875) was a Scottish architect known for his work on the Balmoral Castle estate for Queen Victoria. William Emslie (1830-1904) was a Scottish-born Australian politician who served as a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly.

Moving into the 20th century, one notable bearer of the Emslie name was John Emslie (1903-1989), a Scottish-born Australian cricketer who played for the Australian national team in the 1930s.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Emslie

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!