Emrys
About Emrys
Magical and powerful, but gentle and approachable too, Emrys is a Welsh name which may be worth considering if you're looking for something less common that Dylan, Evan, or Morgan. An offbeat epithet of the wise wizard Merlin, it's currently in the Welsh top 100 and in the England and Wales Top 500 over all.
Root name Ambrose is an ancient saints' name, derived from the Greek ambrosia, the food and drink of the gods that conferred immortality, adding to the magical feel of the name. Parents today may also associate it with the BBC show Merlin which notably used the name as an alternative name for the warlock.
In the US, Emrys has also been rising and a recent year saw it chosen for more than 180 boys, and 40 girls.
Pronounced EM-ris.
As of October 2026, Emrys ranked #1260 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #1138 in 2024, Nameberry popularity #158.
Editor's take: The name Emrys is a boy's name of Welsh origin meaning "immortal".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #2,281 | 58 | 30.2 |
| 2015 | #2,417 | 53 | 27.7 |
| 2016 | #2,098 | 67 | 35.3 |
| 2017 | #2,056 | 68 | 36.7 |
| 2018 | #1,902 | 78 | 42.9 |
| 2019 | #1,613 | 102 | 56.8 |
| 2020 | #1,790 | 84 | 48.7 |
| 2021 | #1,463 | 123 | 70.3 |
| 2022 | #1,861 | 85 | 48.7 |
| 2023 | #1,623 | 107 | 62.6 |
| 2024 | #1,138 | 184 | 106.8 |
| 2025 | #1,260 | 157 | 91.9 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Emrys.
- Evander
- Caius
- Leander
- Amias
- Alaric
- Lorcan
- Elio
- Stellan
- Cassian
- Casimir
- Sylvan
- Lysander
- Idris
- Cillian
- Lucien
- Norwyn
- Auberon
- Oberon
- Leif
- Cato
Emrys on lists
Famous Emryss
- Emrys Owen Roberts
Welsh politician
- Emrys James
Welsh actor
- Emrys Hughes
British politician
- Emrys Hughes
Welsh rugby leaguer
- (John) Emrys W. Jones
English actor
- Emrys Evans
Welsh rugby footballer
Emrys in pop culture
- Emrys
Welsh version of Roman name Ambrosius, as in Emrys Wledig (Ambrosius Aurelianus), Romano,British warlord; later the uncle of King Arthur; or Myrddin Emrys (Ambrosius Merlin)
- Emrys Killebrew
character in Marvel's Deadpool comics
- Emrys
a character from Sarah J. Maas's Throne of Glass series