Behind the Name: Emily

History
Historically, although Emily was in the top 100 names in the 1880s, the name slowly declined in popularity through the 1950s, before climbing again in the sixties and seventies. In the 1980's, Emily reached the top 25 names for baby girls. In the 1990's the name continued to grow in popularity, reaching the number 3 ranking. In recent years, Emily has been the most common name given to girls in the United States for the past decade, and also ranks among the most popular names in Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Australia. Today, Emily is one of the most popular names in the United States, currently ranking number 1 in the Social Security Administration's list of top ten names for 2007 (http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames).

Personality profile
According to personality profiler Kerrin Carleen Hopkins (http://www.calgarysun.com/cgi-bin/publish.cgi?p=147793&x=articles&s=lifestyle),''Emilys are [...] complete sweethearts - friendly, funny, supportive. She is spoiled by her parents but fortunately, Emilys share well.''

Facts about Emily
Many believe that the strength of the name Emily is enhanced by its connotations with American poet Emily Dickenson.

Emily's List is a political action committee in the United States which supports reproductive rights and women in government. The committee has raised controversy due to its vocal pro-choice stance.

The US city Emily, Minnesota has a population of 847 (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily%2C_Minnesota)

The 2001 film Amélie (named after the French version of Emily) won best film in the European film awards. The film describes a shy waitress who changes the lives of those around her through mischievous, magical pranks (source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0211915/)

Famous Emilys
Emily Dickenson (American poet)
Emily Partridge Bacon (the first Philadelphia pediatric physician)
Emily Barclay (actress)
Emily Young (British sculptor)
Emily Bissell (American social worker and activist)
Emily Azevedo (American bobsledder)
Emily Strange (cartoon character and merchandising mascot, online at: http://www.emilystrange.com/)

Alternate Forms
Aemilia (Ancient Roman); Aimil (Manx), (Scottish) ; Aimiliona (Irish) ; Aimilios (Greek) ; Amalia (Spanish), Slavic ; Amalie (French) ; Amalija (Russian); Amélia (Portuguese); Amelia (English, German, Spanish); Amélie (French); Amilia (English); Amilie (German); Amma (German); Eemeli (Finnish); Aemilia (Ancient Roman); Aimil (Manx), (Scottish) ; Aimiliona (Irish) ; Aimilios (Greek) ; Amalia (Spanish), Slavic ; Amalie (French) ; Amalija (Russian); Amélia (Portuguese); Amelia (English, German, Spanish); Amélie (French); Amilia (English); Amilie (German); Amma (German); Eemeli (Finnish); Eimile (Irish); Em (English); Ema (Spanish); Emalee (English); Emalia (Hawaiian) ; Emele (Hawaiian); Emelia English, (Slavic), (Spanish)
Emelie (German, Swedish); Emelina (Spanish); Emeline (French); Emely (English); Emilee (English);Aemilia (Ancient Roman); Aimil (Manx), (Scottish) ; Aimiliona (Irish) ; Aimilios (Greek) ; Amalia (Spanish), Slavic ; Amalie (French) ; Amalija (Russian); Amélia (Portuguese); Amelia (English, German, Spanish); Amélie (French); Amilia (English); Amilie (German); Amma (German); Eemeli (Finnish); Eimile (Irish); Em (English); Ema (Spanish); Emalee (English); Emalia (Hawaiian) ; Emele (Hawaiian); Emelia English, (Slavic), (Spanish)
Emelie (German, Swedish); Emelina (Spanish); Emeline (French); Emely (English); Emilee (English); Emília (Slovakian); Emiliana (Italian, Portuguese, Spanish); Émilie (French); Emílie (Czech); Emilie (Danish), (German), (Norwegian),(Swedish); Emilija (Croatian), (Latvian), (Lithuanian), (Serbian), (Slovenian)

Sources
2007 rankings are courtesy the Social Security Administration (http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/).
Historical name data generated from the Baby Name Wizard (http://www.babynamewizard.com/voyager)
Sources for name facts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_%28given_name%29
Personality profile from the Calgary Sun (http://www.calgarysun.com/cgi-bin/publish.cgi?p=147793&x=articles&s=lifestyle)