Try 'Em Out

50+ Cute, Creative, & Cool Nicknames For Emily That Go Beyond Just ‘Em’

Emily has proven to be a popular name throughout the years, but there's still a lot about it you may not know.

by Kelly Schremph
Updated: 
Originally Published: 
Nicknames for Emily can help capture your daughter's playful spirit.
filadendron/E+/Getty Images

Expectant parents will find themselves asking a lot of questions before their little one’s birth, but one of the more fun topics of conversation will be what to name your baby once they have made their official debut. And while some parents may choose to look to pop culture for inspiration, others may prefer the more traditional route. Of course, there are a wide variety of great choices out there to select from, though one option that has proven to be highly popular for little girls over the last several decades is the name Emily. It would be considered quite rare (if not impossible) to find someone who doesn’t know at least one person — or even multiple people — named Emily. But as popular as the name may be, there’s a lot you may not know about it.

Meaning & Origin

The name Emily comes from the Latin family name Aemilia and is commonly linked to the Latin word “aemulus,” which means rival or industrious and hardworking. It is also the feminine version of the name Emil. As far as its popularity goes, Emily has served as a tried and true name among many families throughout the last several decades.

According to the Social Security Administration, Emily ranked as the No. 1 name for baby girls in America from 1996 through 2007. In fact, 2007 proved to be the name’s most popular year to date. The number of births with the name Emily hit a record of 19,358, which factors out to be 0.915 percent of total female births that happened that year. And while the name has seen a slight drop in the rankings since then, it remained in the Top 12 until 2020, when it jumped to No. 18 in the chart.

Variations of the Name Emily

Emily has also been used in various languages throughout the years, which means it has many variations to consider, ranging from Danish and Polish to Hungarian and Swedish, and so many more options in between. Provided below are a few examples of these variations to the name and their regions of origin.

  1. Aemilia: to rival, excel (Latin)
  2. Aemiliana: imitating or rivaling (Latin)
  3. Aemilianus: from the Roman clan name Aemilius (Latin)
  4. Aemilius: of the Aemilius family, rival or eager (Latin)
  5. Aimil: laborious (Scottish Gaelic)
  6. Aimilios: strength (Greek)
  7. Ái My: lovable (Vietnamese)
  8. Amilia: amiable (English)
  9. Eemeli: challenger (Finnish)
  10. Eemi: blessed, favor, beautiful (Finnish)
  11. Eemil: “they are one who are like the elves” (Finnish)
  12. Eimíle: wily or persuasive (Irish)
  13. Em: industrious, striving, work (English)
  14. Emalee: rival, laborious, eager (English)
  15. Emelie: industrious (Swedish)
  16. Emely: to strive, excel, rival (English)
  17. Emiel: rival (Dutch)
  18. Emil: to strive (Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, English, German, Hungarian, Icelandic, Macedonian, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovene, Swedish)
  19. Émile: industrious (French)
  20. Emilee: laborious (English)
  21. Emili: rival, laborious, eager (Catalan, Hebrew, Hungarian)
  22. Emília: (Hungarian, Portuguese, Slovak)
  23. Emilía: (Icelandic)
  24. Emilia: (Bulgarian, Danish, English, Finnish, German, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Spanish, Swedish)
  25. Emilian: excellent (Polish, Romanian)
  26. Emiliana: rival or to strive to excel (Italian, Portuguese, Spanish)
  27. Emiliano: eager or rival (Italian, Spanish)
  28. Émilie: rival (French)
  29. Emílie: (Czech)
  30. Emilie: (Danish, German, Norwegian, Swedish)
  31. Émilien: freindly (French)
  32. Émilienne: rivaling or imitating (French)
  33. Emīlija: rival or emulating (Latvian)
  34. Emilija: (Croatian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Serbian, Slovene)
  35. Emílio: rival, eager, or emulating (Portuguese)
  36. Emilio: (Italian, Spanish)
  37. Emilios: rival or eager (Greek)
  38. Emilis: enthusiastic (Lithuanian)
  39. Emiliya: to strive, excel or rival (Bulgarian)
  40. Emīlija: (Latvian)
  41. Emily: rival, wily, or persuasive (English)
  42. Emlyn: rival, trying to equate or excel, or emulating (Welsh)
  43. Emmi: whole or universal (Finnish)
  44. Emmie: industrious (English)
  45. Emmy: universal (English, French)
  46. Emy: of the Aemilius family, rival, eager, whole, big, universal, or entire (French)
  47. Milja (Finnish)
  48. Mille (Danish, Norwegian, Swedish)
  49. Millie (English)
  50. Milly (English, Norwegian, Swedish)
  51. Yemelyan (Russian)

Nicknames for Emily

Though Emily would serve as your child’s official, legal name, it’s common for kids (and even adults) to go by a nickname. Sometimes they are tied to some sort of joke or funny story, but other times they stem from the name itself. Here are a few options you’d have to work with if you were to choose the name Emily.

  1. E
  2. Em
  3. Ems
  4. Millie
  5. Gimme
  6. Mils
  7. Emmy
  8. Emmie
  9. Emy
  10. Esme
  11. El
  12. Emi-Bean
  13. Milly
  14. Mil
  15. Mia
  16. Emma
  17. Emeline
  18. Emz
  19. Emi
  20. Miamor
  21. Mel
  22. Miley
  23. Melia
  24. Lee
  25. Ily
  26. Eminem
  27. Emi Love
  28. Mills
  29. Memeily
  30. Lily
  31. Emem
  32. Emilia
  33. Emzy
  34. Michi
  35. Meli
  36. Emu
  37. Emi-Cakes
  38. Emster
  39. Emo
  40. Lulu
  41. Emilita
  42. Emmi-Bear
  43. Emmynemmy
  44. M&M
  45. Similey
  46. Smiley
  47. Emlo
  48. Lee Lee
  49. Wemmy
  50. Emi Lou

Emilies You Should Know

Emily may be a familiar name, but this moniker belongs to many fantastic individuals who will make you feel even more confident about giving your little girl this name.

  • Emily Bronte: Bronte is an English Novelist known for her novel Wuthering Heights, a literary classic.
  • Emily Blunt: Blunt is an award-winning British actress who has received a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and three British Academy Film Awards. In 2020, Forbes listed her as one of the highest-paid actresses.

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