Emile

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Emil in US United States, DK Denmark, SE Sweden and 15 more and Ემილ in GE Georgia.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 25 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Emile is also recorded as 2 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• a separate given name4.0K records spelled Emile7 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, India, Belgium, Canada

  Also written Émile, Êmile, Èmile, Ėmile, Emilé

• French (Côte d’Ivoire) given name3.9K records spelled Emile2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Côte d’Ivoire

  Also written Émile

84 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Emile is also recorded in 4 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, A male given name from Latin of Latin origin, an anglicized spelling of French Émile.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In French, Du latin Aemilius, « rival »; fête de saint Émile le 22 mai.

  as a name·Dictionnaire généalogique des prénoms

• In French, Latin origin; means « émule ».

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

• In mnc, romanization of ᡝᠮᡳᠯᡝ

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Émile Zolab. 1840FRFrench novelist, journalist, playwright, and poet (1840–1902)
• Jules Massenetb. 1842FRnot in their usual nameFrench composer (1842–1912)
• Émile Durkheimb. 1858FRFrench sociologist (1858–1917)
• Émile Bernardb. 1868FRFrench painter (1868-1941)
• Henri Matisseb. 1869FRnot in their usual nameFrench artist (1869–1954)
• Émile Borelb. 1871FRFrench mathematician and politician (1871-1956)
• Paul Éluardb. 1895FRnot in their usual nameFrench poet (1895–1952)
• Dominique Zardib. 1930FRnot in their usual nameFrench actor (1930–2009)
• Émile Lahoudb. 1936LB11th President of Lebanon
• Emile Heskeyb. 1978GBEnglish association football player

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 880 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Emile?

We estimate roughly 401 thousand people bear Emile (counting its spellings and scripts) across 15 countries in our records.

In which country does Emile have the most bearers?

We estimate about 168 thousand people bear Emile in France, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled emile.

Where is Emile most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Emile is densest in Sweden — about 1 in 177 people — even though France holds more of our records for it.

How common is Emile compared with other names?

In France, Emile is the 171st most common given name of 711,207 given names recorded there.

Is Emile a male or female name?

Emile is recorded for both men and women. We don't publish a percentage split: a record's gender belongs to the person and is attached to every given name on that record, so names in cultures where a name string also carries a parent's or spouse's given name pick up large cross-gender counts.

What does the name Emile mean?

Recorded meaning: From Latin Aemilius, possibly 'rival' or 'eager'.