Emslie as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Emslie

What is the meaning of the name Emslie ?

The baby name Emslie is a Unisex name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈɛmzli/ (EMZ-lee).

Emslie is English, Scottish in Origin.

Emslie is a Scottish surname-turned-given name rooted in a place-name formed from Old English elm + leah, “elm clearing” or “meadow of elms.” The spelling reflects Scots orthography; related forms include Elmslie and Emsley, all pointing to wooded clearings where elm trees marked early settlements. Phonetically, it sits with the modern -sley/-sly cluster, yet its sense remains resolutely arboreal and pastoral.

Documented as a family name in northeast Scotland and northern England since at least the seventeenth century, Emslie has only recently crossed into first-name use, trending unisex alongside Ainsley and Kinsley. Short forms Em, Ems, and Emmie feel familiar without defaulting to Emily. Variant spellings include Emsley, Emsly, Elmsley, and Elmslie; some sources alias it with Ainsley, though that derives from a different place-name. Meaning: “elm meadow/clearing.”