Amelia
Amelia was the 4th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 12,699 babies. Its best year was 2024, when it ranked 3rd; the most babies were born in 2021 (13,041). Over the last ten years it has moved up 8 places. More babies were named Amelia in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning from Germanic amal- (vigor, bravery) · Germanic
Say it uh-MEE-lee-uh /əˈmiliə/
- Rank in 2025
- #4 girls, up 2 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 12,699girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 202113,041 babies
- Total since 1880
- 281,414babies recorded
What does the name Amelia mean?
Amelia comes from Germanic names that began with amal-, an element glossed as 'vigor' or 'bravery'. Amalia is the older continental form. From early on it was confused with Emily, which comes from the Roman family name Aemilius. DMNES stresses that the two names have different origins even though they were often merged.
*amalą (Proto-Germanic, “vigor, bravery”)
How sure is this? Probable.
Other explanations you may read: That Amelia is a form of Emily / Aemilia.
See also: Germanic names, names that mean strength, names that mean brave.
Sources for this meaning
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources (ed. S. L. Uckelman), Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Amelia'
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources (ed. S. L. Uckelman), Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Emily'
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (names.zip, yob*.txt), team3 computation
- Wikidata item Q461718
- Wiktionary, entry 'Amelia'
Nicknames for Amelia
The usual nicknames for Amelia are Millie, Mia, Amy, Mel and Lia. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Amelia in the last five years, 90 were named Mia, against 246 twenty years earlier. Millie is also gaining on the full name.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Millie · also for Emilia, Emily, Camille | Traditional | #73 | 12,731 |
| Mia · also for Maria | Modern | #6 | 56,885 |
| Amy | Traditional | #257 | 7,022 |
| Mel · also for Melody, Melanie, Melissa | Modern | #7,031 | 75 |
| Lia · also for Eliana, Liliana | Modern | #200 | 6,839 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Amelias go by each one.
Amelia popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 284 since 1921, 6 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #4 | 12,699 |
| 2020 | #6 | 12,802 |
| 2010 | #41 | 5,464 |
| 2000 | #207 | 1,531 |
| 1990 | #194 | 1,513 |
| 1980 | #316 | 768 |
| 1970 | #445 | 493 |
| 1960 | #414 | 542 |
| 1950 | #357 | 483 |
| 1940 | #279 | 504 |
| 1930 | #236 | 679 |
| 1920 | #190 | 1,054 |
| 1910 | #163 | 449 |
| 1900 | #146 | 398 |
| 1890 | #109 | 368 |
| 1880 | #96 | 221 |
How popular is Amelia, counting every spelling?
Amelia is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #4 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together. Together these spellings went to 12,769 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amelia | 12,699 | #4 | 63,306 |
| Ameliah | 40 | #3,717 | 201 |
| Amellia | 30 | #4,556 | 153 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Amelia?
12,699 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Amelia (3.52 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Amelia born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is about 1 in 15. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, a typical elementary school of 430 pupils would have about 1.5 children named Amelia.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Amelia?
About 242,200 people born in the US named Amelia are alive today, with a median age of 10; half are between 5 and 19. That makes Amelia a young name: most people with it are children.
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.
Amelia by state
How common Amelia was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Vermont (3.0×), Wyoming (2.9×), Alaska (2.6×), Rhode Island (2.4×), West Virginia (2.1×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Texas, California, Maryland.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Amelia: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Amelia, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Amelia · Sibling names for Amelia
Questions about the name Amelia
What does Amelia mean?
Amelia means “from Germanic amal- (vigor, bravery)” (Germanic origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Amelia?
Amelia was the 4th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 12,699 babies. Its best year was 2024, when it ranked 3rd; the most babies were born in 2021 (13,041). Over the last ten years it has moved up 8 places. More babies were named Amelia in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Amelia a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Amelia in the US.
Where is Amelia most popular?
In 2021–2025, Amelia was most common in Vermont (23.31 per 1,000 girls), followed by Wyoming and Alaska.