Comments for the name Emil

In Sweden this name is (fondly) connected to the books about Emil i Lönneberga by Astrid Lindgren.

Very traditional name for Czechs.

Also, from the Teutonic (Old High German), meaning 'the industrious'.

Name of an old patrician family at Rome. Aemilia is also a gens. Also related to the name Aemilianus.

In Finnish we double the initial-e: Eemil, while as Emil (i Lönneberga) is translated as (Vaahteramäen) Eemeli. [noted -ed]

Perhaps the following definitions evolve from the idea that "Emil" means "rival" -- they actually do seem logical extensions to me.
Other meanings of "Emil"
1) The Latin family [gens] name -- Aemilius -- comes from the Latin word "aemulus", meaning "imitating, rivaling" [from www.etymonline.com] -- So this "rival" challenges the opponent by first trying to imitate and EMULATE.
2) Emil means “industrious” [from: Dictionary.com < Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006] -- After imitating/emulating, the "rival" then works hard to supercede their opponent = working to gain the upper hand by being "industrious".
3) It's interesting to note that there is a major region in Italy called Emilia-Romagna (it was the destination of a major road from Rome heading North called the "via Emilia," because it was built by the Aemilius family living in that region -- see also Wikipedia's citiation for the town, "Reggio Emilia".]) It just so happens to be the "second richest region" in Italy (according to Wikipedia), proving that the name still inspires people to be successfully industrious!
4) Under the name "Emily," you also may want to note that it has been the most popular girls name in the US for over 10 years now.

Emil Racoviţă (November 15, 1868—November 17, 1947) was a Romanian biologist, zoologist, speleologist and explorer of Antarctica.

Emil Boc is the current mayor of Cluj-Napoca, a large city in northwestern Romania with a population of about 318,000.

Emil is the name of Remy's older brother in the Disney*Pixar movie, Ratatouille.

Emil Palade was a Romanian biologist who received the Nobel Prize for his contributions to cell biology.

Emil Cioran (April 8, 1911 – June 20, 1995) was a Romanian philosopher and essayist.

Listen to the German pronunciation of Emil here:
http://www.nordicnames.de/Aussprache.html

The ancient historian Plutarch, in his Life of Numa (VIII.9-10), claimed that the meaning of the name "Aemilius" referred to an individual who spoke with grace and engaging charm. Aemilius was thus the additional name that King Numa bestowed upon his son Mamercus (named for a son of Pythagoras), and this name of Aemilius became the name of the patrician family of Rome descended from Mamercus.

Emil is the name of one of Professor Bhaer's nephews in Louisa May Alcott's books.

Emil, and a traditional Czech name? You've got to be kidding. It's rarely used among Czechs, it isn't of Czech origin and it has no connection to Czech culture and history whatsoever.

[traditional or not, it is the 65th most used name in the Czech Republic -ed]

I'm sorry, but it is not. Eliška is the 65th most used name in the Czech Republic. Emil is about 150th "most" used name, and there are only about 10 thousands Czechs bearing this name in the whole world. But all I really wanted to say was that the above comment is wrong in its statement that Emil is a traditional Czech name, because Emil, regardless how "often" used, is not a "very traditional name for Czechs". Ask any Czech you want. :)

I really like this name. I think it's very handsome and sophisticated.

In the USofA there is a restaurant called something like Emil Villa's. It's pronounced EE-məl, though. I think it sounds nice either way.

I know someone with this name that goes by the pronunciation A-mill.

Middle name of Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips.

Emil Zátopek, Czech long-distance runner best known for his "hat trick" at the 1952 Helsinki Olympic games. Winning the gold medal and setting Olympic records in the 5,000m, 10,000m and the Marathon—a race he had never run before.