NameCensus.

UK name, mostly boys

Emile

A masculine French name meaning "industrious, hardworking".

For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.

Emile is mostly registered for boys in the UK records. People looking for Emile popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #814, with 40 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2002, with 41 births.

This profile covers 730 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NRS Scotland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.

The latest count is about 98% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.

We estimate that about 730 living people in the UK are called Emile. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.

Key insights

  • Emile ranked #814 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 40 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 2002, when 41 boys were registered as Emile.
  • Emile ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #707 in 2016.
  • About 730 living people in the UK are estimated to have Emile as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
  • Across the England and Wales records shown here, 84.2% of Emile registrations are for boys.

Latest rank (E&W)

#814

2024

Births in 2024

40

Latest year

Peak year

2002

41 births

Estimated living

730

2026

Gender

Boy and girl registrations for Emile

In England and Wales birth records, Emile has been registered for both boys and girls. Across the years shown here, 84.2% of registrations are for boys and 15.8% are for girls.

These figures use the sex categories in the published baby-name files. They are useful for spotting how the name is used at registration, but they are not a live measure of gender identity or everyone living with the name today.

84% boys
16% girls
Boys730 (84.2%)Girls137 (15.8%)

Emile registered for boys

  • Ranked #814 in 2024
  • 40 boys registered in 2024
  • Peak: 2002 (41 births)

Emile registered for girls

  • Ranked #3,970 in 2022
  • 5 girls registered in 2022
  • Peak: 2015 (16 births)

Meaning

What does Emile mean?

The name Emile originated from the Roman family name Aemilius, derived from the Latin word aemulus, meaning "rival". This name was first recorded in ancient Rome and was particularly popular among the aristocratic Aemilian family. The name Aemilius later evolved into the French form Emile during the Middle Ages.

In the 4th century, there was a Roman grammarian named Emilius Asper who wrote a commentary on the works of Virgil. This is one of the earliest documented uses of the name Emilius. During the Middle Ages, Emile became a popular name in France, with many notable individuals bearing this name.

One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Emile is Saint Emile de Rouen, a 7th-century bishop of Rouen in France. He was known for his charitable works and for founding several monasteries in the region. Another notable figure was Emile Littré (1801-1881), a French philosopher, lexicographer, and translator who is best known for his influential dictionary, the Dictionnaire de la langue française.

In the realm of literature, Emile Zola (1840-1902) was a renowned French novelist and a leading figure in the literary movement of naturalism. His works, such as the Rougon-Macquart cycle, explored the social and moral issues of his time. Another famous writer was Emile Durkheim (1858-1917), a French sociologist who is considered one of the founders of modern sociology.

In the field of science, Emile Borel (1871-1956) was a French mathematician and one of the pioneers of measure theory and probability theory. His contributions to the field of mathematics were widely recognized. Emile Berliner (1851-1929), a German-American inventor, is best known for inventing the flat disc record and the Gramophone, which revolutionized the recording industry.

These are just a few examples of notable individuals who bore the name Emile throughout history, showcasing its enduring popularity and cultural significance across various fields and disciplines.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Emile over time

The chart below compares boys and girls registered as Emile in England and Wales, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.

For Emile, the clearest high point is 2002. The latest England and Wales figure is 40 births in 2024, compared with 41 at the peak.

Babies born per year

BoysGirls
012233546199620102024

Decades

Emile by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Emile was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.

Decade Average rank Total births Years covered
2020s #1049 142 5
2010s #1159 239 10
2000s #863 264 10
1990s #753 85 4

Geography

Where Emile is most common

The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Emile. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.

Emile ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #707 in 2016.

Scotland
3

Across the UK

Emile in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland (NRS)

#707 in 2016

2 years of NRS records, 6 total registered

Notable bearers

Famous people named Emile

  • Emile Smith Rowe

    association football player

    English association football player

    2000-

  • Emile Cairess

    athletics competitor

    British long-distance runner

    1997-

  • Emile Sinclair

    association football player

    English association football player (born 1987)

    1987-

  • Emile Heskey

    association football player

    English association football player

    1978-

  • Emile Charles

    actor; film actor

    British actor

    1971-

  • Emile Ford

    singer

    Saint Lucian musician and singer (1937-2016)

    1937-2016

  • Emile Gumbs

    politician

    Chief Minister of Anguilla (1928-2018)

    1928-2018

  • Emile Thubron

    athlete

    French motorboat racer (1861–1927)

    1861-1927

Related

Names similar to Emile

FAQ

Emile: questions and answers

How popular is the name Emile in the UK right now?

In 2024, Emile was ranked #814 for boys in England and Wales, with 40 births registered.

When was Emile most popular?

The peak year on record was 2002, with 41 babies registered as Emile in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Emile?

A masculine French name meaning "industrious, hardworking".

How many people are called Emile in the UK?

A total of 730 babies have been registered as Emile across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 6 more in Scotland.

Where is Emile most common?

In the latest published local rankings, Emile ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #707 in 2016. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.

Which records is this page based on?

The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.