Emilia Name Meaning

A beautiful name with a romantic side, Emilia is a cousin to the mega-popular Amelia. Her start is reminiscent of yesterday’s Emily, yet her sound takes her to exotic new heights.

She’s a mysterious pick with depth, a precious name for a girl to grow with. Nicknames like Em, Emmy, and Millie make her a natural on a little one, while the name in all its glory is stunning on an adult. She’s mature, refined, and ready for more, a woman who follows her heart wherever it may take her.

Emilia has received a bump in popularity, thanks in part to a certain Game of Thrones actress, giving the rare gem of a name a platform to appear in millions of households. She has vintage roots but remains modern, working well beside many of today’s top names.

Emilia is soft and serene in sound, though her meaning gives her a hidden strength to keep her going. She has a relaxed calm about her, but is always working towards her next goal. A whimsical pick with an air of sophistication about her, Emilia is a gorgeous pick for a daughter.

The delicate name conjures up images of tulle and bows, the perfect choice for a little ballerina dancer or girly girl. At the same time, her gentle ways make a library her perfect home, surrounded by stories as stunning as her name.

Infographic of Emilia name meaning, which is A female variant of Aemilius, Emilia means to rival or to excel.
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Emilia Name Popularity

How popular is the name Emilia? Here’s everything we know.

Year Rank # Births % Births
1910 581 20 0.0057%
1911 655 15 0.004%
1912 682 21 0.0042%
1913 507 62 0.0109%
1914 556 63 0.009%
1915 551 91 0.01%
1916 628 76 0.0079%
1917 612 84 0.0084%
1918 605 96 0.0089%
1919 636 80 0.0076%
1920 675 75 0.0067%
1921 623 97 0.0085%
1922 630 91 0.0082%
1923 588 109 0.0097%
1924 597 110 0.0095%
1925 608 101 0.0089%
1926 598 99 0.009%
1927 607 97 0.0088%
1928 617 86 0.008%
1929 659 72 0.007%
1930 593 92 0.0088%
1931 617 72 0.0073%
1932 632 71 0.0072%
1933 669 54 0.0058%
1934 604 76 0.0079%
1935 762 41 0.0042%
1936 766 40 0.0042%
1937 687 56 0.0057%
1938 759 44 0.0043%
1939 743 47 0.0046%
1940 732 50 0.0047%
1941 739 54 0.0048%
1942 823 47 0.0037%
1943 852 42 0.0032%
1944 884 36 0.0029%
1945 862 38 0.0031%
1946 865 51 0.0035%
1947 813 67 0.004%
1948 887 53 0.0033%
1949 984 41 0.0025%
1950 1,003 41 0.0025%
1951 916 56 0.0033%
1952 996 45 0.0026%
1953 985 50 0.0028%
1954 1,044 45 0.0025%
1955 1,038 50 0.0027%
1956 980 63 0.0033%
1957 1,121 44 0.0023%
1958 1,257 31 0.0016%
1959 1,121 46 0.0024%
1960 1,142 46 0.0024%
1961 1,162 47 0.0025%
1962 1,069 56 0.0031%
1963 1,138 47 0.0026%
1964 1,103 53 0.003%
1965 1,181 39 0.0024%
1966 1,039 53 0.0034%
1967 1,049 51 0.0034%
1968 1,219 37 0.0025%
1969 1,162 47 0.0031%
1970 1,139 55 0.0035%
1971 1,194 49 0.0033%
1972 1,310 35 0.0026%
1973 1,236 40 0.0031%
1974 1,334 35 0.0027%
1975 1,229 46 0.0036%
1976 1,132 57 0.0044%
1977 1,258 50 0.0037%
1978 1,302 46 0.0034%
1979 1,396 41 0.0029%
1980 1,160 67 0.0046%
1981 985 96 0.0065%
1982 901 116 0.0078%
1983 1,033 85 0.0058%
1984 1,012 91 0.0061%
1985 1,185 68 0.0045%
1986 1,149 75 0.005%
1987 1,083 87 0.0057%
1988 954 125 0.008%
1989 1,084 104 0.0064%
1990 1,002 135 0.0081%
1991 934 158 0.0097%
1992 961 151 0.0095%
1993 1,001 138 0.0089%
1994 902 163 0.0106%
1995 924 155 0.0103%
1996 885 171 0.0114%
1997 878 183 0.0124%
1998 855 196 0.0131%
1999 772 237 0.0158%
2000 618 365 0.0239%
2001 643 350 0.0232%
2002 540 464 0.031%
2003 518 506 0.0333%
2004 467 590 0.0387%
2005 430 673 0.044%
2006 419 721 0.046%
2007 415 745 0.0472%
2008 401 761 0.0492%
2009 403 744 0.0498%
2010 348 882 0.0612%
2011 321 931 0.0653%
2012 262 1,184 0.0831%
2013 201 1,544 0.1084%
2014 161 1,983 0.1361%
2015 143 2,209 0.1518%
2016 102 3,018 0.2093%
2017 75 3,571 0.2559%
2018 58 4,012 0.292%
2019 43 4,743 0.3504%
2020 40 4,671 0.367%
2021 40 4,461 0.3649%
2022 44 4,664 0.3535%

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Data via SSA.gov.

Names Like Emilia

If you like Emilia, you’ll love these other names like Emilia.

What names are diminutives of Emilia?

A diminutive is a name that’s like Emilia sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Emilia, but shorter.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Em

Industrious, striving; work; rival; laborious; eager; entire, universal; emerald

Spanish

Emmie

Industrious, striving; work; rival; laborious; eager; entire, universal; emerald

Spanish

Emmy

Rival

German

Lia

Weary one

Hebrew

Millie

Gentle strength

English

What names are variants of Emilia?

Mix it up with these names that are a variation of the name Emilia.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Amelia

Work

German

Amilia

Amiable

Latin

Emalia

Rival; laborious; eager

Latin

Emelia

Rival; laborious; eager

Latin

Emila

Rival; laborious; eager

Latin

Emilea

Rival; laborious; eager

Latin

Emili

Rival; laborious; eager

Latin

Emiliana

Rival; laborious; eager

Latin

Emilie

Rival; laborious; eager

Latin

Emilla

Rival; laborious; eager

Latin

Emily

To excel

Latin

Emilyah

Rival; laborious; eager

Latin

Emma

Whole or universal

German

Melia

Plumeria

Polynesian

What names sound like Emilia?

If you like how Emilia sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Emilia.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Ember

Smoldering coal

English

Emerson

Son of Emery

English

Emery

Home strength

German

Emmeline

Work

German

What names are similar to Emilia?

Find a name that’s like Emilia, but just a little bit different.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Arabella

Answered prayer

Latin

Calista

Cup; fairest, most beautiful

Latin

Celeste

Heavenly

Latin

Daphne

Laurel

Greek

Fiona

Fair or white

Scottish

Isadora

Gift of Isis

Latin

Lydia

From Lydia

Greek

Odessa

Angry man

Greek

Olivia

Olive tree

Latin

Penelope

Weaver

Greek

Lists With Emilia

Find inspiration in these baby girl name lists featuring the name Emilia.

Siblings of Emilia

Mamas with kids named Emilia also have kids with these names.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Ryan

Little king

Irish

Santiago

Saint James

Spanish

19 Comments

  1. tbh I struggled choosing a girl name this time. We wanted a soft sounding name that would be an easy spell and had a strong meaning to it. It had to also sound good with the last name and in our native language (for grandparents sake ?) Finally Emilia was hitting all those points and it’s lovely ? she’s our little Miss.

    Reply

  2. When I was in my second trimester with my first born, currently 3, my husband and I were in the car listening to music and a song new to the both of us came on about a daughter named Emilia. We both looked at each other and knew that was our name. I thought I was carrying a girl, but we had a sweet little boy instead. The name became a part of our family and now belongs to our princess 4 years later. Plus we get the super sweet song and fun story to go with it. We had more trouble coming up with a boy named but after browsing biblical boy names we settled on Eleazar and call him Zarik.

    Reply

  3. We loved this name forever- it is very soft-sounding, lady-like and melodious

    Reply

  4. Y’all better like the name Emilia because my name is Emilia and if you don’t like my name I’m gonna cry ;((

    Reply

  5. Emilia is a name that is spelled and pronounced the same in many languages. We needed a name that worked in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese and German. Olivia and Sophia are great options too.

    Reply

  6. My husband is French, I am from Mexico and we are living in Switzerland, so we looked for a name that have a clear pronunciation in Spanish, French and German. Also, I think Emilia is a name with character and melodic.

    Reply

  7. We chose Emilia because we believe it’s neutral name for our bilingual home, we share two cultures and we wanted to include both. We liked the meaning as well, it suits our baby girl perfectly.

    Reply

  8. I’ve always liked the name but took me until week 37 to completely decide on it. Had been going back n forth between Lilia Clare or Emilia Clare. She definitely looks more like an Emilia. Naming the second girl was definitely harder though. Our first daughter is 3 n a half and named Gwendolyn.

    Reply

  9. Naming our daughter did not come easy after six sons in a row. We wanted something feminine and beautiful that flowed nicely with her brothers names. Charles, Joseph, Samuel, Zachary, Matthew, Alexander and Emilia. We appreciate strong names and Emilia Elizabeth fits right in!

    Reply

  10. we just loved the name

    Reply

  11. My husband and I struggled to find a name we both liked. I really liked Emily and Emma and he loved Olivia. Emilia seemed like a wonderful compromise!

    Reply

  12. We wanted a name that was classic but also unique and could easily have nicknames.

    Reply

  13. Our baby is named after Emilia Rose Clarke, the actress from the movie Me Before You, who also happens to be my husband’s movie-star crush LOL! But we both loved the name Emilia anyway so Emilia she is! Her middle name, Rose, is the middle name of his grandmother and great-grandmother and it flows nicely with Emilia.

    Reply

  14. We always liked the name Amelia, but since it’s a little on the long side (4 syllables) I wanted a nickname. We decided on Emilia so we could use Emi as a nickname. I prefer the “eh” sound in Emilia to the “uh” sound of Amelia. I also love E names in general and think it looks so elegant.
    Things I don’t love – when introduced verbally, people tend to think you said Amelia. And some people don’t know how to pronounce it when reading it and say “Em-ih-lee-uh”. Also, it seems the most common meaning of the name is “rival” and not “industrious” like with Amelia, which isn’t as nice as a meaning, but ultimately decided that didn’t matter too much.

    Reply

    • Hi, my daughter is Emilia. I think it looks so beautiful written down. But out of interest, how do you pronounce the name? I always feel like I say it wrong, the same as Amelia. Xx

      Reply

  16. We needed a name that didn’t change pronunciation between English and Portuguese. My husband is American, but I am Brazilian and all my family lives there. Named with R and H on the beginning are a big no no. Our oldest daughter is named Zoey, also very easy to say in both languages. We fell in love with the meaning of Emilia chose that one for our baby!

    Reply

  17. We chose Emilia because we both liked the names Emily and Ella, but did not like how popular those names were in our area. We liked the name Amelia but wanted the letter E, so we went with Emilia and checked to see if that spelling existed and were happy to find out that Emilia Clarke from Game of Thrones used that spelling.

    Reply

  18. This is the only name my husband and I could agree on for a girl. The spelling was chosen so her nickname could be Emi

    Reply

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