girl's name
Amara
uh-MAR-uh
- Origin multiple unrelated
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 100 (US)
- Births on record 38,764
the United States
#98
2025 births
Amara is a girl's name that exists independently in several languages. In Igbo it means "grace"; in Italian and Spanish amara means bitter; and a Greek line connects it to amarantos, meaning unfading or everlasting.
- Amara is a name of multiple unrelated origin.
- Peaked in 2025, when 2,639 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 1,256 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1961.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Amara over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1960s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1960s | 30 |
| 1970s | 214 |
| 1980s | 530 |
| 1990s | 1,430 |
| 2000s | 4,381 |
| 2010s | 9,523 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 13,171 |
What Amara means
Amara has no single meaning. The Igbo reading gives grace, the Romance reading gives bitter, and the Greek line gives everlasting. All three are genuine and in live use, which is why sources list them together.
Where Amara comes from
Amara arrives from at least three unconnected directions. In Igbo, spoken in southeastern Nigeria, amara means grace or mercy and is a well-established given name. In Italian and Spanish, amara is simply the feminine adjective for bitter, from the Latin amarus — the same root behind the drink amaro. A Greek line derives it from amarantos, unfading, the word behind the amaranth flower said never to wither, giving a sense of eternal. Because these converged on one English spelling, reference works present the meanings side by side rather than choosing.
Amara in use
Igbo grace and Latin bitter arrive at the same spelling from opposite directions.
How popular is Amara?
In 2025, Amara was given to 2,639 babies in the United States, ranking #98 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Where Amara is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Amara
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Amara also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Amara over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Amara
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Amara in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Amara
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Amara — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Amara
What does the name Amara mean?
It depends on the language — grace in Igbo, bitter in Italian and Spanish, and everlasting via the Greek amarantos.
Is Amara an African name?
Yes, in Igbo it means grace — though the name also exists independently in Romance and Greek lines.
Why does Amara have opposite meanings?
Because unrelated languages arrived at the same spelling, one meaning grace and another bitter.
How popular is the name Amara?
In 2025, Amara was given to 2,639 babies in the United States, ranking #98 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Is Amara a girl's or a boy's name?
Amara is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Amara?
Amara has 3 syllables.
When was Amara most popular?
Amara peaked in 2025, when 2,639 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Amara?
Amara is usually shortened to Mara and Ama.
Is Amara a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Amara currently ranks #98 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.