Emsley
Habitational name for someone from a place called Emsley.
Name Census estimates that about 750 living Americans carry the first name Emsley. It is a predominantly female name (98.7% of registrations). The average person named Emsley today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Emsley births was 2015 (70 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Emsley. 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.
People living today
750
~ 1 in 457,006 Americans
Peak year
2015
70 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
1924 SSA rank
#3,285
Tracked since 1916
Census
Emsley in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 627 people with the first name Emsley, which placed it at #17,540 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
#17,540
National first-name rank
People counted
627
627 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
75.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Emsley
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Emsley is White at 75.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.4%) and Black (5.7%). 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 Emsley 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 Emsley at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.3% · 472
- Hispanic or Latino12.4% · 78
- Black or African American5.7% · 36
- Two or more races4.6% · 29
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Emsley
Emsley leans heavily female at 98.7% of total registrations, but 10 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Emsley as a male name
- Ranked #4,548 in 1924
- 5 male births in 1924
- Peak: 1916 (5 births)
Emsley as a female name
- Ranked #3,285 in 2024
- 48 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2015 (70 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Emsley leans strongly female. 551 people counted with this name were female (87.9%), compared with 76 male bearers (12.1%).
Popularity
Emsley: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Emsley from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 537 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Emsley remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Emsley 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 Emsley during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Emsleys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. Texas, North Carolina, California recorded the most babies named Emsley, while South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 12 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Emsley
The given name Emsley has its origins traced back to the Old English language, with roots dating back to the 7th century AD. The name is believed to be derived from the Old English words "emel" and "leah," which collectively translate to "flat meadow" or "open land." This suggests that the name may have initially been associated with individuals residing in or near such landscapes.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Emsley can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of land holdings and property ownership compiled in 1086 under the orders of William the Conqueror. This ancient document lists several individuals bearing variations of the name, such as Emelslei and Emelslea, indicating the name's longstanding presence in English history.
Throughout the medieval period, the name Emsley appeared sporadically in various historical records and chronicles. One notable bearer of the name was Emsley de Rye, a prominent landowner and knight who lived during the reign of King Edward III in the 14th century. Records indicate that Emsley de Rye participated in several military campaigns and was granted lands in recognition of his service.
As time progressed, the name Emsley continued to be used, albeit with varying degrees of popularity. In the 16th century, Emsley Croft, a renowned scholar and theologian, made significant contributions to the study of religious texts and scriptural interpretations. His works were widely circulated among academic circles during the Renaissance period.
Another noteworthy figure bearing the name Emsley was Sir Emsley Carr, a prominent British politician and statesman who lived in the 18th century. He served as a member of parliament and played a pivotal role in shaping several legislative policies during his tenure.
Moving into the 19th century, Emsley Woodhouse gained recognition as a pioneering inventor and engineer. His innovations in the field of steam engine technology greatly influenced the industrial revolution and paved the way for more efficient manufacturing processes.
While the name Emsley has experienced periods of relative obscurity throughout history, it has endured as a distinct and meaningful moniker, carrying with it a rich tapestry of cultural and historical significance.
People
Emsley + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Emsley 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
Emsley: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Emsley?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 750 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Emsley 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 457,006 US residents.
Is Emsley a common name?
We classify Emsley as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 765 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Emsley most popular?
The single biggest year for Emsley was 2015, when 70 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Emsley is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Emsley in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 627 people with the name Emsley, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,540 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 Emsley 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 Emsley?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Emsley leans strongly female. 551 people counted with this name were female (87.9%), compared with 76 male bearers (12.1%). 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 Emsley?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Emsley is White at 75.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.4%) and Black (5.7%). 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 Emsley most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Emsley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.3% (472 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 Emsley in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Emsley a female name?
Yes, 98.7% of people registered as Emsley 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 Emsley still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Emsley 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 Emsley 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 have Emsley as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Emsley, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.