Baby Name to Consider: Emberley

I’ve been hearing names such as Emery and Everly. And I think Ember is a good modern update for the name Amber. So how about the name Emberley?

It has sounds in common with other names being used. It has a positive association in the artist Ed Emberley.

What do you think? Remember, the point of a “name to consider” isn’t so much “Is this name to my own personal tastes?” as it is “Does this seem like A NAME, with potential for use by people whose naming style it WOULD be?”

35 thoughts on “Baby Name to Consider: Emberley

    1. Elizabeth

      I know this couple that had a baby last year and named her Emberley, my mom’s name is Kimberly and we’ve never had any issue with it although they do call her Emy (kinda like Amy but with a e)

      Reply
  1. British American

    It reminds me of Kimberly too – before I read Kacie’s comment.

    I can very much see people choosing Emberley for a baby. I had Ember on my 2005 name list and the -ley ending seems quite popular these days – so Emberley seems like a natural progression.

    Reply
  2. Anonymous

    My friends named their daughter Emberly, and while I wasn’t a fan at first (I thought it sounded too made-up), it’s grown on me. I would now definitely consider it a “real name,” for all the reasons you mentioned, as well as the similarity to Kimberly, which is definitely an established NAME. Added bonus: the ever-popular Emmy as a nickname.

    Reply
  3. Abby@AppMtn

    Yes, I do think we’ll be hear Emberly and Emberley.

    I don’t mind them, actually – they strike me as closer to Romilly or Delaney. No reason they can’t be names – they just haven’t been.

    Reply
  4. Anonymous

    I actually think that Emberley seems more like a name than Ember. I think the name would be prone to a lot of “huh?” reactions, because it sounds so similar to Kimberly. That’s immediately where my mind went when I saw the title of this post. Oddly enough, though, Emberley and Kimberly invoke totally different reactions from me. For example, if I were to assign a color to each name, Kimberly would be a shocking (think eighties Barbie) pink, while Emberley would be a softer, more natural tone, like fall colors.

    Reply
  5. Kristi

    I think it definitely could be considered a “real name”. After reading it I’m actually surprised I’ve never heard it before. I’m kind of fallin gin love with it as a type.

    Reply
  6. Sarah

    My daughter’s name is Ember (16 months) so Emberley seems like a very reasonable name to me!

    I imagine an Emberley would run into the same issue that we do with Ember: people are quick to assume Amber. So, my husband and I are introduce her as, “Ember. With an E.” People stare blankly for a nanosecond before it clicks and then they almost always say, “Oh that’s beautiful.”

    Reply
  7. Carolyn

    I think Emberley is a great name. I secretly still love Kimberly, even though it was so popular in the 70s/80s. I prefer the full name to the nickname “Kim”.

    Emberley would lend itself to more nn’s, such as Em, Emmie, and Ember.

    Reply
  8. Melospiza

    I have two reponses, which helpfully contradict each other.

    1. Emberly totally sounds like a name, and an appealing one, besides.

    2. Emberly also sounds almost exactly like how my name (Emily) used to be mispronounced as a child growing up on the fringe of Appalachia. The actual mispronunciation was Embly, and the people who said Embly were also the people who said chimbley, chicken pops, and liberry.

    I HATED Embly.

    (though now, through the mists of distance and nostalgia, it actually seems like an appealing nicknamey name in itself)

    Reply
  9. christa

    I can see someone using it, and I wouldn’t say “That’s not a real name.”

    So yes, it sounds like a name – though a recently made up one.

    Reply
  10. Ashley

    I love it! I like Ember as a given name and nickname (esp. for Remembrance, November, etc), and Emberley makes it seem much more “girly.” I’ve actually seen it spelled both Emberly and Emberleigh, too, before. The -ly seemed more “normal-looking” than -ley, and while I’m not usually big on alternatives to ley/ly…I thought the -leigh ending was really cute.

    Also…Pemberley is awesome. Jane Austen FTW.

    Reply
  11. bunnyslippers

    The little Pemberly I know was named after a location in a Jane Austen novel.

    Very cute and original!

    Reply
  12. Lynnette

    The name makes me think of the Terry Pratchett book “Witches Abroad”, which is a Discworld version of the Cinderella story. The Cinderella character is named “Emberella”, which is both pretty and ridiculous. Emberley sounds like a name to me, and not even all that recently made up.

    I think it sounds lovely and sophisticated.

    Reply
  13. Lynnette

    I also think it brings to mind “smoldering”, which reminds me of names like Arden and Blaise. These sound like excellent sibling names for Emberley.

    Reply
  14. Anonymous

    IMO, it sounds too made-up, not really a name. But, since it’s just Kimberly without the K, it is still relevant and familiar.

    Reply
  15. Patricia

    Should fit right in with all the ‘new’ names that keep appearing for the sake of ‘uniqueness’. Has the advantage of possible multiple spellings since it’s not an established names. Let’s see:
    Emberlee
    Emberlie
    Emberleigh
    Etc.

    But if Emberley catches on in a big way that will be its demise because uniqueness is everything with this type of name.

    And look, Emberly already is being used:

    SSA baby names 2009:
    Emberly – 32 baby girls
    Emberlee – 15
    Emberleigh – 8
    Emberlie – 6

    And it’s ‘cousin” Emberlynn 33
    Emberlyn 27
    Emberlin 6

    Then there’s Kemberly 17

    And the very close Amberly, etc.:
    Amberly 151 baby girls in 2009
    Amberlee 59
    Amberley 15
    Amberleigh 12
    Amberlie 7
    Amberlea 5

    And of course, Amberlyn 59; …..lynn 43; …..lin 15

    And Kamber and Kamberly (or was it Kamberlin?)

    “Does this seem like A NAME, with potential for use by people whose naming style it WOULD be?”

    Emberley is already in use, just not too much with that exact spelling. As for people whose naming style it would be — what would you call that style??? There are many, many names we hear these days that fit that style, whatever it’s called.

    Reply
  16. beyond

    It instantly reminded me of Kimberly. The Kimberly of the 1970s might be the Emberly of today. the nn Ember is familiar thanks to Amber. Not my style, but it does truly sound/seem like a real name.

    Reply
    1. Kimberly

      ahhh, I see this thread is very old – but I wanted to chime in on the name Emberly. My daughter was born this year (2017) and hubby and I picked Ember. As I am a Kimberly from the 70’s – I requested to add the “ly” to her name. Everyone compliments her name – hubby only tells people her name is Ember, and of course they say “Amber”. We have to correct them. But I like Emberly. And everyone hears that name correctly. I honestly didnt even think Emberly was really a name or ever been used – I just wanted my daughter to match me.

      Reply
      1. Amber

        My daughter was born 2015, her name is Emberly. My husband picked it. I liked it because my name is Amberlynn. People sometimes chuckle when we are introduced together, Ember and Amber. Emberly has also been mistaken for Beverley, a few times. I love the name Emberly, it appears to be coming much more common.

        Reply
  17. Amber (without the ly)

    It made me think of Amberly, then Kimberly. I think it’s a very cute and girly sounding name.

    The related progression that came to mind for me was… Emberley, Kimberly, Kimber, Kambria – which is my cousin’s name. When I was younger I thought Kambria sounded made up, but now I like that it’s unique and still somewhat familiar. I also like the nickname potential – Kam.

    Reply
  18. The Wonder Worrier

    It has a familiar sound to it that totally makes it sound like a legit name. And though it isn’t what you’re asking, I do feel the compulsion to add that it’s not my naming style… only because I tend to like names that are pretty much in the Top 10 – 20 of any given year, hahaha. I like the overly familiar/everyone already knows them names.

    But, for people who like something a little more unique/trendy, then I think this is a great option, and it’s a very soft and feminine name. I like the sound of it, even if it’s not a name I’d personally choose.

    Reply
  19. Meg

    Makes me think of Camberley.
    or someone saying Emily with a cold lol.
    Seriously though as it sounds like so many other names, it seems like a name ( if that makes any sence!)

    Reply
  20. Catherine

    It’s funny you should ask…my fiance and I have Ember in mind for our future daughter. He and I have VERY different tastes in names. He’s punk rock and is passionate about fire dancing and other incendiary performance art; I spent about 15 years in a medieval re-enactment society, read poetry and listen to folk music…oh and I have a 10 year old daughter named Stephanie Elizabeth. For us to agree on the first girl’s name I suggested floored me, to be honest.

    It sounds punky and modern enough AND ties in with his pyromania while still having an elegantly poetic feel for me. For a middle name, his grandmother just died and he was very close to her, so seriously thinking of Suzanne. Grandma’s name was Susan but the name Susan just makes me twitch. Plus I love the Leonard Cohen song. I could see myself singing it to her as a lullaby.

    I’m pretty sure I can sell him on Ember Suzanne.

    (Stephanie was named partly for my favourite singer, Stevie Nicks, and partly because I loved that it was French and meant Light. Elizabeth is my middle name. I wanted her to have a name that was hers for a first name and then a family name to fallback on in the middle.)

    Reply
  21. Anonymous

    I have an Emberly. Her nickname is Emmy and she is four now, and I haven’t had any difficulty with people mispronouncing it or anything. She loves her name, and I have had a lot of positive feedback, it is pretty and different, but not too different.

    Reply
  22. Anonymous

    I have an Emberley and we love her name! Sometimes people, especially of the older generation think its Kimberly, but I correct them graciously. We call her Emmy as a nickname which imo is become way too popular ;)

    Reply
  23. Emberley

    My name is Emberley. My nickname is Emi. I love my name it is unique. But the problem is most people spell it wrong and say it wrong. People call me kimberly and spell it like emberly. In middle school they put my name wrong in the system and it took me three quarters to change it.

    Reply

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