Emelee
Of Latin origin, meaning "industrious" or "hardworking".
Name Census estimates that about 75 living Americans carry the first name Emelee. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Emelee today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Emelee births was 2006 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Emelee. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Emelee. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
75
~ 1 in 4,570,058 Americans
Peak year
2006
13 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2015 SSA rank
#12,178
Tracked since 2000
Census
Emelee in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 130 people with the first name Emelee, which placed it at #48,722 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#48,722
National first-name rank
People counted
130
130 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
44.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Emelee
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Emelee is Hispanic at 44.6%. The next largest groups are White (41.5%) and Black (4.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Emelee described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Emelee at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino44.6% · 58
- White41.5% · 54
- Black or African American4.6% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.8% · 5
- Two or more races3.8% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 2
Popularity
Emelee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Emelee from the 2000s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 51 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Emelee remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Emelee by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Emelee during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Emelees live
Origin
Meaning and history of Emelee
The given name Emelee has its origins in the Latin language and can be traced back to the Medieval period. The name is derived from the Latin word "aemulus," which means "rivaling" or "striving to excel." This suggests that the name may have been given to individuals who were perceived as ambitious or driven to achieve greatness.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Emelee can be found in the historical records of the 12th century. During this time, a woman named Emelee de Montfort was mentioned in the chronicles of a French nobleman. She was the daughter of a prominent figure in the region and was known for her dedication to charitable causes.
In the 13th century, the name gained popularity in parts of Europe, particularly in England and France. One notable figure bearing this name was Emelee de Beaumont, a noblewoman from Normandy who lived between 1220 and 1285. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her support for the construction of several churches and monasteries.
As the name spread across different regions, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Emilee, Emelie, and Emely. In the 14th century, a woman named Emely de Vere was recorded in the annals of English history. She was a member of the influential de Vere family and played a significant role in the court of King Edward III.
The name Emelee also found its way into literary works of the time. In the 15th century, Geoffrey Chaucer's famous work "The Canterbury Tales" featured a character named Emelee, who was portrayed as a virtuous and wise woman. This literary reference helped to solidify the name's association with positive qualities.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Emelee. One such person was Emelee de Rohan (1552-1628), a French noblewoman who was known for her philanthropic endeavors and her support for the Catholic Church. Another was Emelee de Valois (1615-1685), a member of the French royal family and a patron of the arts.
In the 17th century, Emelee Bronte (1620-1692) was a renowned English writer and poet who contributed significantly to the literary landscape of her time. Emelee Nightingale (1785-1855), a British social reformer and pioneer of modern nursing, was also a notable figure who carried this name.
While the name Emelee may not be as common today as it once was, its rich history and associations with ambition, virtue, and excellence have left an indelible mark on the cultural tapestry of various regions and time periods.
People
Emelee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Emelee as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Emelee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Emelee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 75 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Emelee going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 4,570,058 US residents.
Is Emelee a common name?
We classify Emelee as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 76 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Emelee most popular?
The single biggest year for Emelee was 2006, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Emelee is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Emelee in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 130 people with the name Emelee, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #48,722 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Emelee in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Emelee?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Emelee appears almost entirely female. Of the 118 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Emelee?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Emelee is Hispanic at 44.6%. The next largest groups are White (41.5%) and Black (4.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Emelee most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Emelee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.6% (58 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Emelee in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Emelee a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Emelee in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Emelee still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Emelee in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Emelee can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Emelee?
Find out how many Americans are named Emelee on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.