The name

Selecting the name for Emilia was a long process, and a lot of considerations went in - as previously blogged as well. Primary concern was obviously that the name needs to sound nice to the parents. Then, it should not be too common, or too rare, needed to be international enough - yet Finnish. We ended up with what we ended up with.

Emilia is by the way originally Italian/Latin name. Famous Emilias from that early era include Emilia, the Duchess of Gaeta (died 1036), and Emilia, one of the narrators in Boccaccio's The Decameron / Decamerone (1353). Supposedly the real origin is from the name of the Roman noble family Aemilius. The Greek word 'aimulos' and Latin word 'aemulus' mean 'soft; friendly' and 'emulating; rival' respectively. The form Aemilia was a popular Roman name. English classics also are secured: In Shakespeare's Othello, Emilia is the wife of the bad guy. Hope this is not indicative of anything.

In Finland, the name has been popular in the 1800s, and again in the 1990s - rising to be one of the most popular for girls in the 90s. Little less so in the 2000s. (I know, we always miss the trend...)

Besides Italy and Finland, the name is also popular at least in Poland (several queens and princesses - and the mother of pope John Paul II), Sweden and Chile. I also hear that it is a solid Portuguese and Greek name. When you google a bit, you'll find British actresses, Bulgarian singers, and more. Definately international.

In the US, Emilia is 420th most popular name according to the social security administration rankings - with 749 born in 2006.

According to a US baby name site, Emilia is misspelled "always" 63% of time. Still sad, but better than Ville... Whether it will be a good name remains to be seen. We did our best.