Boys' name · peaked in 1884
Emil name popularity since 1925
18,200 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Emil. Half of them were born in 1949 or earlier, so the typical Emil is about 77 years old in 2026. Emil peaked in 1884 as the #91 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 18,200
- Named Emil, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1884
- #91 for boys that year
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,269 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.7% boys
- 62 girls · 18,138 boys
- Most popular in
- New Jersey
- 3.24× its national share
Peak year is the year Emil made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Emil births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 1925. Measured as a share of all babies, Emil peaked earlier, in 1884.
- Steepest fall: Between 1931 and 1936, Emil's share of baby boys fell by 38%.
- Fastest rise: Between 2018 and 2023, it became 1.5× more common, from 1 in 14,100 baby boys to 1 in 9,150.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Emil's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Emil.
Decade by decade
Babies named Emil in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 35 | 3,104 | – |
| 1930s | 22 | 3,518 | #304 |
| 1940s | 0 | 2,498 | #403 |
| 1950s | 0 | 1,861 | #551 |
| 1960s | 5 | 1,266 | #628 |
| 1970s | 0 | 963 | #838 |
| 1980s | 0 | 810 | #1,035 |
| 1990s | 0 | 837 | #1,223 |
| 2000s | 0 | 1,047 | #1,538 |
| 2010s | 0 | 1,241 | #1,371 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 993 | #1,269 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
33.8% of babies named Emil from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Emil is most popular
The index compares Emil's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Emil.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | 3.24× | 1,237 |
| New York | 2.44× | 2,563 |
| Pennsylvania | 2.12× | 1,494 |
| Illinois | 1.97× | 1,331 |
| Wisconsin | 1.92× | 525 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Emil's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Emil.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Emil (1884).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data