Fun Facts About the Name Emsley
- 806 babies named Emsley: U.S. records list 806 babies given the name Emsley from 1880 through 2025. Even 10 boys received the name Emsley - about 1 boy for every 80 girls.
What Does the Name Emsley Mean?
Emsley is an English surname used as a given name. It belongs to a large group of English place names and surnames built on the Old English word lēah, which meant "wood, clearing, or meadow" and survives in modern names as the ending -ley. That second element is well established. The first element is a personal name, conventionally given as Emmel, so the whole would have meant "Emmel's woodland clearing" or "the clearing of a man called Emmel." The exact Old English form of that personal name is not firmly documented, so the meaning is best described as probable rather than certain. Emsley is not related in origin to every other name that happens to end in the same syllable; the shared -ley element simply reflects how common lēah was in English naming.
Emsley Name History & Origins
Emsley started as an English place name of the -ley type, formed from a personal name plus lēah. In the centuries after the Norman Conquest, English families gradually adopted fixed hereditary surnames, often taking them from the village or estate they came from, and a place name like this one became a family name in that way. The surname is recorded in England, and the specific place that produced it has not been identified with certainty.
As a first name, Emsley is a modern development rather than a medieval one. It belongs to the long-standing English habit of turning surnames into given names, a practice that became especially productive in the United States, where surnames ending in -ley have been widely used as girls' names. Emsley itself remains uncommon, and its use as a personal name is recent rather than traditional.
How Popular is the Name Emsley?
Emsley has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2015. Its best rank was #2,565 in 2015.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #3,666 | 41 | 0.0026% |
| 2024 | #3,285 | 48 | 0.0030% |
| 2023 | #4,677 | 29 | 0.0018% |
| 2022 | #4,506 | 31 | 0.0019% |
| 2021 | #5,130 | 25 | 0.0015% |
| 2020 | #3,352 | 46 | 0.0028% |
| 2019 | #3,349 | 47 | 0.0028% |
| 2018 | #2,938 | 56 | 0.0033% |
| 2017 | #3,106 | 52 | 0.0030% |
| 2016 | #3,073 | 54 | 0.0030% |
| 2015 | #2,565 | 70 | 0.0039% |
| 2014 | #2,594 | 68 | 0.0038% |
| 2013 | #3,189 | 51 | 0.0029% |
| 2012 | #3,109 | 54 | 0.0031% |
| 2011 | #3,024 | 56 | 0.0032% |
| 2010 | #4,892 | 29 | 0.0016% |
| 2009 | #7,790 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2008 | #7,857 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 2006 | #14,030 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1924 | #4,548 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1916 | #4,104 | 5 | 0.0006% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
Explore More Lists with Name Emsley
Most Popular Girl Names That Start with E
How the Name Emsley Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are fine when in harmony but changeable when in discord, because many of your best qualities are then reversed. You are entertaining but may be impulsive. Freedom is a necessity, and you find it difficult to settle down. Your versatility results in many changes, and often brings travel. Your fine intellect is capable of high honors if applied seriously. You are capable of inspired thinking applied to material things. You can be restless, changeable, and very sexy. You have an eventful, exciting life. You are versatile and have the ability to learn easily.
You are very intuitive. You have a reservoir of inspired wisdom combined with inherited analytical ability, which could reward you through expressions of spiritual leadership, business analysis, marketing, artistic visions, and scientific research. Operating on spiritual side of your individuality can bring you to the great heights, and drop you off if you neglect your spiritual identity. You are always looking for an opportunity to investigate the unknown, to use and show your mental abilities, to find the purpose and meaning of life. You want to grow wise and to understand people and things. You need privacy to replenish your energy. You have a unique way of thinking, intuitive, reflective, absorbing.
✦ Emsley's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Emsley's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.