Emily

Emily comes from the old Roman clan name "Aemilius," which may or may not have meant "rival," although some say that it comes from German and means "eager." Since neither of these meanings are for sure, and since neither of them are really relevant to the image that most of us have of "Emily," they can probably be safely ignored. Emily is currently the most popular name in the English speaking world. The name had been reasonbly popular since the 19th century, but really started to take off in the 1970's. In the U.S., the name has been in the #1 spot since 1996, making it the "Jennifer" of the newest generation. For this reason, new parents would be advised to find another name for their baby girl--it has to be annoying to share the same name with half your classmates. The relatively sudden rise to popularity of this name is interesting; previous Emily's that come immediately to mind are Emily Dickenson, Emily Bronte, and the etiquette advice of Emily Post. The common mental image of an "Emily" is likely to be far different a few decades from now.