Amber
Amber was the 520th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 576 babies. Its best year was 1986, when it ranked 13th with 16,954 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 186 places. More babies were named Amber in the 1980s than in any other decade.
Meaning amber, the golden fossil resin · English, Arabic
Say it AM-ber /ˈæmbər/
- Rank in 2025
- #520 girls, down 10 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 576girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 198616,954 babies
- Total since 1880
- 375,668babies recorded
What does the name Amber mean?
Amber is an English word name for the yellow-brown fossil tree resin used in jewelry. The word came into Middle English as ambre, through Old French and Medieval Latin ambra, from Arabic ʿanbar. In Arabic that word meant ambergris, a waxy substance used in perfume; in Europe it was later used for the fossil resin. As a first name it belongs with other gem and color names. Wiktionary notes it was especially popular in the 1980s and 1990s.
عَنْبَر (Arabic, “ambergris”)ambre (Middle English, “amber”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Ambar, Ambre.
See also: English names, names that mean jewel.
Sources for this meaning
- The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th ed., entry 'amber' (etymology), HarperCollins / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
- Wiktionary, entry 'Amber' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
Amber popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 978 since 1961.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #520 | 576 |
| 2020 | #510 | 596 |
| 2010 | #222 | 1,419 |
| 2000 | #47 | 6,182 |
| 1990 | #15 | 15,866 |
| 1980 | #22 | 12,553 |
| 1970 | #243 | 1,288 |
| 1960 | #589 | 282 |
| 1950 | #972 | 87 |
| 1940 | #1,792 | 20 |
| 1930 | #1,749 | 21 |
| 1920 | #1,550 | 28 |
| 1910 | #813 | 28 |
| 1900 | #971 | 15 |
| 1890 | #873 | 10 |
| 1880 | #583 | 9 |
How popular is Amber, counting every spelling?
Amber has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #530 for girls in 2025, against #520 on the official list, because Jazlyn/Jazlynn/Jazzlyn and Kaylin/Kaylynn/Kailyn and Eileen/Aileen/Ayleen move ahead once their spellings are combined.
How many kids will share the name Amber?
576 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Amber (0.16 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Amber born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 15 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Amber.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Amber?
About 362,000 people born in the US named Amber are alive today, with a median age of 38; half are between 31 and 43. That makes Amber mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Amber by state
How common Amber was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Utah (2.1×), California (1.8×), New Jersey (1.8×), Colorado (1.6×), New York (1.6×). In 17 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Amber: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Amber, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Amber · Sibling names for Amber
Questions about the name Amber
What does Amber mean?
Amber means “amber, the golden fossil resin” (English, Arabic origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Amber?
Amber was the 520th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 576 babies. Its best year was 1986, when it ranked 13th with 16,954 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 186 places. More babies were named Amber in the 1980s than in any other decade.
Is Amber a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Amber in the US.
Where is Amber most popular?
In 2021–2025, Amber was most common in Utah (0.73 per 1,000 girls), followed by California and New Jersey.