girl's name
Amelia
uh-MEEL-yuh
- Origin Germanic
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 100 (US)
- Births on record 430,082
the United States
#4
2025 births
Amelia is a girl's name most often explained as a blend of two older names: the Germanic Amalia, meaning "work" or "industrious," and the Latin Emilia, from the Roman family name Aemilius. English speakers have used the two almost interchangeably since the eighteenth century, and Amelia is now generally read as meaning "industrious" or "striving."
- Amelia is a name of Germanic origin.
- Peaked in 2021, when 13,049 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 261 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Amelia over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 2,957 |
| 1890s | 3,725 |
| 1900s | 3,664 |
| 1910s | 8,832 |
| 1920s | 8,817 |
| 1930s | 5,998 |
| 1940s | 5,336 |
| 1950s | 5,189 |
| 1960s | 4,829 |
| 1970s | 5,326 |
| 1980s | 9,770 |
| 1990s | 13,569 |
| 2000s | 33,329 |
| 2010s | 93,916 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 76,157 |
What Amelia means
Amelia is usually read as meaning "industrious" or "striving," inherited from the Germanic root amal, which also gave rise to the Amelungs, a legendary Gothic royal dynasty. A secondary influence from the Latin Aemilia, meaning "rival" or "eager," has blended into the name's sense over centuries of use.
Where Amelia comes from
Amelia's history is genuinely tangled. One strand comes from the Germanic root amal, meaning "work" or "industrious," borne by the Amelungs, the royal house associated with the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great. The name reached English form as Amalia and, through French influence, as Amelia. A second, separate strand comes from the Latin Aemilia, the feminine form of the old Roman family name Aemilius, thought to derive from a root meaning "rival" or "eager to please." By the 1700s, English writers and parents had largely merged the two into a single name, Amelia, which is why dictionaries still list both "industrious" and "rival" among its meanings rather than settling on one.
How popular is Amelia?
In 2025, Amelia was given to 12,705 babies in the United States, ranking #4 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Where Amelia 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.
How Amelia is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Amélia | Amélia is Amelia written with an acute accent in France, and the spelling parents there overwhelmingly choose: it ranks #81 in France, against #445 for Amelia. | 15,143 |
| Amèlia | Amèlia is a rare spelling of Amelia, written with a grave accent and recorded about 15 times, mostly in France. | 15 |
Names that peaked alongside Amelia
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Amelia also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Amelia over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
9 nicknames for Amelia
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.
Amelia 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 Amelia
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Amelia — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Amelia
What does the name Amelia mean?
Amelia is generally translated as "industrious" or "striving," from the Germanic root amal.
Is Amelia the same name as Emilia?
They come from different roots — Amelia from the Germanic amal, Emilia from the Latin Aemilius — but English usage has blended them for centuries.
What are common nicknames for Amelia?
Amy, Millie, and Mia are the most widely used short forms of Amelia.
How popular is the name Amelia?
In 2025, Amelia was given to 12,705 babies in the United States, ranking #4 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Is Amelia a girl's or a boy's name?
Amelia is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Amelia?
Amelia has 3 syllables.
When was Amelia most popular?
Amelia peaked in 2021, when 13,049 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
Is Amelia a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Amelia currently ranks #3 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.