About Emilia
Emilia is a feminine form of the Roman family name Aemilius, traditionally connected with Latin aemulus, meaning rival. It belongs to the same family as Emily, with a longer vowel sequence in English. Its literary history includes Boccaccio and Shakespeare, while actor Emilia Clarke provides a familiar modern bearer.
A Roman name across languages
The family name Aemilius supplied feminine Aemilia and later forms including Emilia and Emily. The rival interpretation comes from its traditional connection with aemulus; the Roman family name is the firmer starting point for its history.
Emilia is established in Italian, Spanish, Polish, Finnish, Swedish, and English, among other languages. Masculine relatives include Emil and Emilio. Emily is historically related, while the similar-looking Amelia belongs to a different name family.
English Emilia is usually ih-MEE-lee-uh, with four syllables. Italian and Spanish commonly say eh-MEEL-yah, bringing the ending together more closely. Emmy, Emmie, Millie, and Milly are established English familiar forms, drawing on different parts of the full name.
Emilia in literature
Boccaccio used Emilia for the love interest in his fourteenth-century poem Teseida. The name later appears in Shakespeare's Othello as the wife of Iago and companion to Desdemona.
In Othello, Emilia finds Desdemona's dropped handkerchief and gives it to her husband. Iago uses the object to help create the false appearance that Desdemona has been unfaithful, making an ordinary personal possession central to his deception.
Emilia eventually reveals what actually happened to the handkerchief. Her decision to speak breaks through Iago's account, and he kills her. The character's movement from unwitting assistance to a direct declaration of the truth gives her a crucial role in the tragedy's ending.
Emilia Clarke on screen and stage
Emilia Clarke played Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones. The role brought four Emmy nominations: supporting actress in a drama series in 2013, 2015, and 2016, followed by lead actress in 2019.
Her name also appears in a different theatrical setting. In March 2013, she played Holly Golightly in a Broadway production of Breakfast at Tiffany's, moving from a fantasy television world to a character associated with Truman Capote's story.
These roles offer distinct cultural associations for Emilia without replacing its older literary history. The given name has appeared both within fictional works, as Shakespeare's character, and in the credits of a performer interpreting other characters.
American popularity
Emilia rose from 402 United States girls in 2000 to 927 in 2010. Its strongest ranking and largest annual count came in 2021, at #40 with 4,854 births.
In 2025 it ranked #45 with 4,677 girls. That recent growth has made a long-established international name a prominent contemporary American choice, while Emily continues its separate history within the same name family.
Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution
Meaning and history draw on the references below. American figures use the local Social Security Administration series for this exact spelling and sex; counts below five are omitted. Existing Wiktionary content is available under CC BY-SA. Nickname suggestions are identified in the text.
How popular is Emilia?
In 2025, Emilia ranked #45 among girls in the United States, with 4,677 recorded uses. The U.S. birth records first list this spelling for girls in 1880; its largest annual count was 4,854 in 2021. Rankings count each spelling separately. They describe national use, so local familiarity can differ. The popularity chart shows whether the name has remained common, returned after a quieter period, or risen recently.