Given name & surname
Emil
“one who is eager; an industrious man”
Emil is used as a given name and a surname. One Latin interpretation is “one who is eager; an industrious man.”
Original LatinAemilius
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Latin interpretation is “one who is eager; an industrious man.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Latin.
How it developed
In Romanian usage, Emil developed from Aemilius.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Emil through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 33,230
- 33,096 boys · 134 girls
- Most popular year
- 1917
- 1,012 babies
- 2025
- 155
- #1,269 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +19%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 155 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,269 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 19.3% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 1,004 in 1917. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (26). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 13,668 as a first name in 2020; 300 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Emil’s family of names
In Slovak usage, Emil has a diminutive in MILKO. In German usage, Emil shares a linguistic root with the Spanish form Emilio. Emil has a related form in Emiliano.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Emil has relatives in 19 languages. Lines run from its Latin roots to each of them.
Latinwhere Emil comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 20
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 21
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Emil
- Emil FischerGerman chemist (1852–1919)
- Emil von BehringGerman physiologist who received the first Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1901 for his discovery of a diphtheria antitoxin1854–1917
- Emil CioranRomanian-French philosopher and essayist (1911–1995)
- Emil Theodor Kochersurgeon, laureate of the 1909 Nobel Prize in Medicine (1841-1917)
- Emil ZátopekCzech long-distance runner (1922-2000)
- Emil JanningsGerman actor (1884-1950)
- Emil Boc61st Prime Minister of Romania (2008-2012)born 1966
- Emil KraepelinGerman psychiatrist (1856–1926)
- Emile BerlinerGerman-born American inventor (1851–1929)
Characters named Emil: Professor Hamilton (fictional character who appears in the Superman comics).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Emil, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Cecil
“one who is blind” · “the sixth-born child”
>99% boys
Virgil
“the staff-bearer”
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Vito
“one who gives life”
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Oswald
“the power of God”
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Meyer
“giving light” · “a large man”
85% boys · 15% girls
Archie
“a master of thought” · “one who is bold, brave, and genuine”
99% boys · 1% girls
Arnold
“the eagle ruler”
>99% boys
Booker
“one who binds books; a scribe”
>99% boys