Name of the Week: Emil, Emilian

 

Origin:

Aemilius is the name of one of an influential Roman gens (family/clan). Plutarch described them as "one of the ancient and patrician houses at Rome."* Traditionally, it has often been connected with the Latin aemulus "rival, striving to excel" (the source of the English word emulation), perhaps because the clan was made up of many families.*  Many of the Roman gens traced the origins of their names to a famous 'ancestor'. There are several origin stories for the gens Aemilia, which was originally spelled Aimilia. According to some ancient scholars such as Plutarch*, the clan were descended from Mamercus, a son of the second Roman king Numa Pompilius or his mentor Pythagoras, or Ascanius, legendary king of Alba Longa, son of the Trojan hero Aeneas. Mamercus aquired the surname Aemylos which derives from the Greek aimylos "wily, winning, persuasive, flattering," because of his persuasive abilities.*  The gens were most likely of Sabine origin.* The Late Roman historian Festus derived the name Mamercus from Mamers, the Oscan/Sabellian name for Mars, so it is likely that Aemilius itself actually derives from an ancient Oscan word which was lost even to the Republican Romans.  From Aemilius came the adjectival name Aemilianus, meaning "belonging to Aemilius." The practice of adding -anus/-inus to a nomen (family name) was commonly used when adult men were adopted into another family. The adopted man took all three names of his adoptive father but usually added a fourth name — the adjectival form of his original nomen.* Aemilius became Emilius and Emil in English, German and Slavic and Scandinavian languages, Émile in French, Emilio in Spanish, Italian and Portuguese and Eemil in Finnish.  Aemilianus became Emilian in English, German and Slavic and Scandinavian languages, Émilien in French and Emiliano in Italian, Portuguese ans Spanish (which also uses the form Millán).

Usage:

Several notable members of the Aemilia gens are recorded in history, many of them Roman consuls. Most notably, Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus (c.229 BC–160 BC) was a two-time consul of the Roman Republic and a noted general who conquered Macedon; Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (c.89 BC-c.12 BC) was triumvir with Octavian and Mark Antony, and the last Pontifex Maximus of the Roman Republic; and Marcus Aemilius Aemilianus (d. 253), known as "Aemilian" in English, was Roman emperor for three months in 253. The name continued into the Late Roman Empire through the shift to Christianity. Saint Emilius (d.250 AD) is venerated as a saint and martyr by the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic, and Saint Emilian of Cogolla (d.573) was a Visigothic saint who was widely revered throughout Spain as "San Millán." Emile was the most common form of the name in Britain up until very recently, in use from the 16th century, though it was never very common. The spelling Emil was used from the 17th century. Emilian can be found in rare use in Britain from the 16th century, most likely thanks to Saint Emilian. It was also in use in Spain at this time as well.  During the 19th century, Emile was mostly confined to Middlesex, in the areas that are essentially Greater London now, which is a big clue that the majority of Emile's use was due to European migration. Indeed, most birth registrations for Emile in the 19th century have French or German surnames.  Birth registrations in England and Wales:   Emile Emil Emilian 1840s: 1850s: 1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 1910s: 1920s: 1930s:  1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 1970s: 25 births 63 births 85 birth 141 births 147 births 114 births 137 births 150 births 53 births 19 birth 21 birth 20 births 64 births 53 births 14 births 21 births 62 births 100 births 145 births 167 births 153 births 103 births 32 births 17 births 21 births 37 births 57 births 107 births 1 birth 2 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 3 births 2 births 0 births From 1996 to 2007, Emil was given to no more that 30 boys in any given year in England and Wales. It began to rise from 2007 onwards, reaching #631 (53 births) in 2011 and reaching its highest point of #506 (76 births) in 2015.  Emile, on the other hand, has spiked intermittently, reaching its usage with 19 births (#1190) in 2005 and peaking with 41 births (#516) in 2002.  Emilian did not rank at all until 2009, when it was given to 4 boys (#3744). In 2015 it ranked #1902 with 12 births.  Internationally is a different story, especially for Emil which is a firm favourite in Scandinavia.  In 2015, Emil ranked #4 in Denmark, #5 in Norway (where it was #1 from 2010-2012), #15 in Germany, #21 in Finland, #29 in Zurich, #29 in Sweden, #37 in Iceland and #38 in Austria.  Emile was #61 in Belgium and Emilian was #107 in Norway.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus (c.229 BC–160 BC) noted Roman general and consul. * Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (c.89 BC-c.12 BC), Roman triumvir with Octavian and Mark Antony. * Marcus Aemilius Aemilianus "Aemilian" (d. 253), Roman emperor for three months in 253. * Saint Emilius (d.250 AD), saint and martyr. * Saint Emilian of Cogolla (d.573), Visigothic saint. * Émile Waldteufel (1837–1915), French composer. * Émile Zola (1840–1902), French novelist. * Émile Camut (1849–1905), French architect. * Émile Durkheim (1858–1917), French sociologist. * Émile Ripert (1882-1948), French academic, poet, novelist and playwright. * Emil Fjellström (1884–1944), Swedish actor. * Emil Brunner (1889–1966), Swiss theologian. * Emil Artin (1898–1962), Austrian mathematician. Contemporary: * Emile Heskey (born 1978), English footballer. * Emile Hirsch (born 1985), American actor. Literature and Other Media: * Emile de Becque, a character in South Pacific. * Emil Svensson, title character of the children's book series Emil i Lönneberga by Astrid Lindgren.

Variants:

Emilian, Emilius, Emil, Emile (English), Émile, Émilien (French), Emilio, Emiliano (Italian, Spanish, Portuguese), Emil (German, Slavic, Scandinavian, Polish), Eemil (Finnish)

Pronunciation:

Emil(e): ə-MEEL [UK], E-mil [Scandinavia, Germany] Emilian: ə-MEE-lee-ən [key]

Possible diminutives:

Lio

Sibling Names:

Claudia     Linnea     Octavia     Sabina     Juno     Rhea  Victor     Elias     Magnus     Matthias     Casper     Julius

Name Lists:

N/A

 

If you like Emil(ian) you may also like:   Remy, Maximilian, Cassian, Fabian, Valentin, Levi, Rasmus, Henrik, Emmerich, Casimir

Thanks to Sibylle for requesting this name.