May vs Emily
How May and Emily compare across 146 years of US Social Security Administration baby-name records — popularity history, peak years, current rank, and which name overtook which.
US Popularity History — Side-by-Side
Annual US births named May (girls) vs Emily (girls), from US Social Security Administration national records.
Source: US Social Security Administration. Names appearing fewer than 5 times per year are suppressed by SSA.
Quick Stats
| Metric | May | Emily |
|---|---|---|
| Peak year (most US births) | 1888 — 782 girls | 1999 — 26,542 girls |
| Peak rank | #63 | #1 |
| Most recent rank (1901) | #95 (550 births) | #34 (5,451 births) |
| Total US births since 1880 | 14,055 | 807,425 |
| Last 10 years (1892–1901) | 6,727 | 75,367 |
Peak comparison takeaway
At its all-time peak, Emily reached 26,542 US births in 1999 — 25,760 more than May's peak count.
Crossover Years
Years where one name first passed the other in annual US births. A name "winning" in a year means it had more births that year, not necessarily a higher rank.
| Year | New leader | May births | Emily births |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1897 | Emily | 595 | 619 |
| 1898 | May | 696 | 628 |
| 1902 | Emily | 0 | 606 |
Strongest States — Last 10 Years
States where each name ranked highest, from SSA's state-level dataset. Lower average rank = name appears closer to the top of that state's girls-name list.
May — top 5 states
| # | State | Avg rank | Births |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Utah | #692 | 23 |
| 2 | Washington | #776 | 27 |
| 3 | Massachusetts | #861 | 29 |
Emily — top 5 states
| # | State | Avg rank | Births |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | #10 | 12,185 |
| 2 | New Jersey | #13 | 2,319 |
| 3 | Florida | #13 | 4,899 |
| 4 | Texas | #14 | 8,237 |
| 5 | New York | #15 | 4,529 |
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Data & methodology
Source: US Social Security Administration national baby names dataset 1880–2025 (CC0 public domain). Names with fewer than 5 occurrences in a given year are suppressed by SSA. State-level coverage runs 1910–2025. Crossover detection compares annual birth counts (not ranks) for each year both names appear. Methodology: see full notes. More comparisons →