Emory
Masculine
Emory is given to both — 18,970 boys and 10,792 girls since 1880. See Emory as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Emory is the surname spelling of Emery, a name the Normans carried into England from the Germanic Emmerich and which English speakers then wore down into a family name. It has appeared in American records without a break for more than a century, and it is strongest in the South, where Emory University in Atlanta — named for a nineteenth-century Methodist bishop — keeps this exact spelling in everyday sight.
How old is the name Emory?
Emory was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Emory alive today was born around 1954, making them about 71 years old. About 10,500 people named Emory are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Emory most popular?
Emory peaked in 1881, reaching #237 nationally. Today it ranks #883, 646 places below that high. See the whole 1881 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Amalric to Emory
The story of Emory
The oldest form is the Germanic Amalric, which shows up in medieval Europe as Emmerich and in France as Aymeric and Amaury. Norman speakers brought it to England, where it settled as Emery and, like so many medieval given names, hardened into a surname passed down through families. American parents have long turned old surnames back into first names, and Emory is that move applied to this one — the -ory ending marks it as the family-name spelling rather than the medieval given name. The same root produced Amerigo in Italy and Imre in Hungary, so the line runs through several languages before it reaches this page.
Meaningscholars disagree
from Germanic elements meaning roughly "work" and "ruler, power"
The second element, Germanic rīc, "power, ruler," is agreed on. The first is read two ways: amal, "work, labor, vigor," giving something like "industrious ruler"; or the name of the Amal, the Gothic royal line, which would make it "ruler of the Amals." Both readings are taken seriously, and neither has pushed the other out.
How the name formed
- Amalric
- Emmerich
- Emery
- Emory
Related forms: Emmerich · Aymeric · Imre · Amerigo · Américo · Emery
Pronouncing Emory
EM-uh-ree
Three syllables said carefully, often two in quick speech: EM-ree. Identical to Emery — the spelling is the only difference.
Nicknames for Emory
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 boys named
- 2022287 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #237reached in 1881
- Change vs 2022
- −6.3%269 in 2025, from 287
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.
Emory in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Emmerich in German — same name
- Aymeric in French — related form
- Imre in Hungarian — same name
- Amerigo in Italian — related form
- Américo in Spanish — related form
- Emery in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, Georgia, Florida.
Emorys among us
people named Emory are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 6,350 born in 2025 was named Emory
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Emory 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 Emory is headed
Emory should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High 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.
Emory beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Emory in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Ready-made short forms — Em, Emmy — that have been in English use for generations, so nothing has to be invented.
- Works for a boy or a girl without adjustment, as surname-derived names generally do.
- A documented line back to medieval Germanic Amalric, with living relatives in German, French, Italian and Hungarian.
- Familiar in the American South through Emory University, which uses this exact spelling.
- On US records continuously for over a century, so it is neither brand new nor tied to one decade.
- Emery is the older and better-known spelling, so expect to spell Emory out often, and to see it corrected on forms and class lists for life.
- The Em- shelf is crowded — Emma, Emily, Emmett, Emerson — and Emory is easily misheard as one of them, especially over the phone.
- Most children given this spelling now are girls, so a boy named Emory will sometimes meet an assumption before he walks in the room. It is a small thing, and it is answered by saying his name.
- It is climbing steadily rather than holding still, so a child born now may find the name more familiar to others by the time they finish school than it is today.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Emory to the vote.
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What they receive
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Emory
Masculine · #883 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Emorys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 10,500 people named Emory are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Emory in 2025?
- Emory ranks #883 among US boy names in 2025, with 269 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Emory?
- About 1 in every 6,350 US boys born in 2025 was named Emory — 269 in all.
- Will my child share the name Emory with classmates?
- Emory will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Emory
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Reuben#883 · Jericho#883 · Jagger#883 · Izan#883 · Trey#883 · Kolson#883 · Leroy#883 · Eren#882
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Emory? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Emory and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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