Emeline
Feminine · “work”
Emeline is a genuinely old name that has been mistaken for a modern one. It came to England with the Normans, was ordinary for centuries, went quiet, and has been coming back — and its root is not the one most people assume.
How old is the name Emeline?
Emeline was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Emeline alive today was born around 1999, making them about 26 years old. About 2,400 people named Emeline are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Emeline most popular?
Emeline peaked in 1886, reaching #476 nationally. Today it ranks #2751, 2,275 places below that high. See the whole 1886 chart.
Where it comes from
From Amalina to Emeline
The story of Emeline
Amelina was a Frankish woman's name that Norman French shortened to Ameline, and Norman settlers carried it to England after the Conquest, where it became Emeline and Emmeline and stayed in ordinary use through the Middle Ages. It faded, then returned in the nineteenth century along with the rest of the medieval revival — the same wave that brought back Edith, Maud and Hilda. American records show it clearly in that Victorian moment, and it has been coming back again since, spelled Emeline, Emmeline and Emmaline more or less interchangeably.
Meaning
work, labor — through the Germanic amal
Emeline is the English form of Old French Ameline, a diminutive of Amelina, from the Germanic element amal, which means work or labor in the sense of vigorous effort. It is the same root behind Amelia and Amalia. It has nothing to do with Emily, which comes from the Roman family name Aemilius, nor with Emma, whose root is ermen, 'whole'. Three names that look alike and share no ancestry at all.
How the name formed
- Amalina
- Ameline
- Emeline
Related forms: Émeline · Amelina · Emmeline · Emelien
Pronouncing Emeline
EM-uh-line
Three syllables, stress on the first. The ending is said two ways — -line rhyming with fine, or -leen rhyming with seen — and both are long established. French uses the second.
Nicknames for Emeline
High
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 2016104 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #476reached in 1886
- Change vs 2022
- −6.1%62 in 2025, from 66
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Emeline in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Émeline in French — same name
- Amelina in German — related form
- Emmeline in English — spelling variant
- Emelien in Dutch — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Emelines among us
people named Emeline are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 25,924 born in 2025 was named Emeline
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Emeline
- #2751
- Emeline on the 2025 chart
- #635
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Emeline went to 62 girls in 2025, but Emmeline is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 346, which makes it the 635th most-given girls’ name of the year — 2,116 places above the chart.
- Emmeline284
- Emeline62
About 1 girl in 4,645 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 25,924 for Emeline itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Emeline sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Emeline is headed
Emeline should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Emeline beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Emeline in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A documented thousand-year history in English, with a medieval record rather than a modern invention.
- Em and Emmy are ready short forms and both are widely used already.
- Its root is genuinely different from Emma's and Emily's, so it is not simply a variant of a common name.
- Emeline, Emmeline and Emmaline are all in use and the spelling will be asked for.
- The two pronunciations of the ending are both correct, so the child will hear both.
- The Em- opening puts it in a crowded room with Emma, Emily and Emerson.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Emeline
Feminine · #2751 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Emelines are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,400 people named Emeline are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Emeline?
- Emeline is one of 2 recorded spellings. Emmeline is the more common one — 284 births in 2025 against 62 for Emeline.
- How popular is the name Emeline in 2025?
- Emeline ranks #2751 among US girl names in 2025, with 62 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Emeline?
- About 1 in every 25,924 US girls born in 2025 was named Emeline — 62 in all.
- Will my child share the name Emeline with classmates?
- Emeline will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Emeline
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Emmersyn#2751 · Nya#2751 · Runa#2751 · Cloe#2751 · Allisson#2751 · Anisa#2751 · Annalynn#2751 · Ziyah#2751
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Emeline? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Emeline and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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