Emily
Once upon a time, around 300 years ago, the throne of Hanover came to England. Hanoverian princess Amelia Sophia Eleanor brought along her nickname. Emily, despite having separate origins, often anglicized Amelia in her early days of consistent usage. Her root form, the Roman Aemilia, even looks like Amelia in structure. While Amelia comes from the Germanic Amalia, meaning "work," Aemilia, as with many Roman girls' names ending in "a," is a feminization of Aemilius, meaning either "rival" or "persuasive." Emily, alongside Latinate Emilia, saw occasional use in England during the two centuries before Hanover's 1700s arrival. Her usage only increased over time; Emily spent the entire Victorian era in the top 20, ranking in the top 10 during 1870 and 1880. She then declined, leaving the top 100 by 1934. In the United States, Emily first ranked in the top 100 most years between 1880 and 1917, moving in and out throughout her last several y...
