Emily

From WikiName

 |female

ORIGIN AND HISTORY

It appears that Emily is actually a feminization of the Roman family name Aemilius. When this family name was adopted into English, probably sometime during the Roman rule of the British Isles, it became Emil. It is a quick progression to feminize Emil into Emily.

As for religious associations, Emily is not found in any canons of holy writ or scripture. However, in nations populated by large numbers of Protestants, Emily can be found at the top of the list of common girls' names.

POPULARITY

Following the rise in prestige of Emily is much like the old rags-to-riches story. The name emerged during medieval times, but did not enjoy much popularity at the time. As we trace the name's rise and fall in popularity, it is interesting to note that over the last 100 years, it has been firmly in the top 100, except for one interesting drop.

This name began to drop steadily in the lists starting in about 1922, when it showed up at #121. It continued to lose popularity until reaching its all time low of #274 in 1962. Then, it immediately began to rise. Within twenty years Emily' came in at #24 on the list, and then in 1996 it grabbed the #1 spot and has not let go.

While it is hard to pinpoint why Emily lost prestige during those forty-odd years, we can hazard a good guess about its newfound, steady popularity. Women's rights, feminism, and women in the work force have been a major part of the culture of the English speaking world for the last thirty years. Emily, with all of its associations with literary figures and strong women, is a good name for parents to give a daughter they want to encourage to fill her potential. What is more, Emily' is a classically feminine name, and does not have masculine associations like other newly popular girls' names such as Madison and Hayden.

NAMESAKES

Emily Bronte, the British writer of Wuthering Heights and Emily Dickinson, the American poet, are both incredibly famous around the world. These women are some of the most important writers of our age, and thus are probably the impetus for many parents to use the name Emily for their daughter.

FAMOUS PERSONS

• Emily Murphy was an important suffragist in Canada just after the turn of the century.

• Amelia Earhart, the famous woman aviator who disappeared inexplicably.

• Amelia Bedelia, the fictional, bumbling housekeeper created by Peggy Parish

OTHER EMILY'S

Emily Smith, Emily Johnson, Emily Williams, Emily Jones, Emily Brown, Emily Davis, Emily Miller, Emily Wilson, Emily Moore, Emily Taylor, Emily Aadland, Emily Aamoth, Emily Aanderud, Emily Aanerud, Emily Aanestad, Emily Aardal, Emily Aarestad, Emily Aarnio, Emily Aaron, Emily Aarons, Emily Aaronson, Emily Aarup, Emily Aase, Emily Aasheim, Emily Aasted, Emily Abacherli, Emily Abad, Emily Abadia, Emily Abadie, Emily Abair, Emily Abaray, Emily Abate, Emily Abatie, Emily Abazi, Emily Abbadessa, Emily Abbas, Emily Abbate, Emily Abbe, Emily Abbey, Emily Abbie, Emily Abbink, Emily Abblett, Emily Abbondanza, Emily Abbood, Emily Abbott, Emily Abboud, Emily Abdalla, Emily Abdallah, Emily Abdon, Emily Abdulsalaam, More results

Author: Jared Garret