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Amelia Baby girl name meaning, origin, and popularity

Amelia name meaning and origin

Amelia is a name perfectly suited to girls who approach life with a desire to do their best. It means "industrious" or "hardworking," and has a long history as a favored name among royalty. The name is German in origin, derived from the name "Amala."

Amelia has different pronunciations all over the world. Perhaps the most common is "uh-mee-lee-uh," but "uh-meel-yuh" is also a common variation. In Spanish and Italian-speaking countries, this name is pronounced "uh-meh-lya."

Amelia also has some variations in spelling, including Emelia and Amilia among English speakers and Amélie and Amélia in France. It lends itself well to many sweet nicknames, including:

  • Mia
  • Millie
  • Meals
  • Mimi
  • Lia

This elegant name made its journey to the English language through royalty when kings George II and George III both named one of their daughters Amelia. These kings were in the German House of Hanover, which ruled over Great Britain and Ireland at various times beginning in the 17th century.

One of history 's most famous and impressive Amelias is pilot Amelia Earhart, who was born in Atchison, Kansas in 1897. In 1932, Earhart was the first female pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Despite her status as a heroine around the world in the early 1900s, the name Amelia was only moderately popular until just recently.

Amelia has been on the Social Security Administration's list of top baby girl names for more than a century, and landed in the top 100 names in 2004. (Movie heroines may have played a role in pushing Amelia up the charts: The French hit Amélie and American movie The Princess Diaries – starring Anne Hathaway as Amelia "Mia" Thermopolis – both came out in 2001.)

After a steady climb, in 2020 Amelia ranked as the sixth most popular girl name in the United States.

BabyCenter parents adore the name Amelia, too. It has been in the top 10 baby girl names on BabyCenter for several years. (BabyCenter 's ranking is based on data from hundreds of thousands of parents who share their baby's name with us.)

Amelia is most typically used for girls. However, there are masculine versions of the name, including Emil, Emile, Emery, and Emmet.

Given that Amelia has only recently taken flight as one of the most popular girls ' names in the United States, we expect this name to continue to soar for years to come.

Amelia name popularity

Popularity over time

babies per million
Source: Social Security Administration & BabyCenter user data

Amelia in pop culture

Amelia Bedelia
The loveable and eccentric title character in the children's book series by Peggy Parish
Amelia Thermopolis
Protagonist in the Princess Diaries, better known as Mia
Amelia C. Voght
X-men mutant who 's able to turn herself into mist
Amelia Bones
Witch in charge of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in the Harry Potter series
Amelia
Main character in the 1751 Henry Field novel by the same name
Amelia Sedley
Character in the novel Vanity Fair
Amélie Poulain
Title character in the French film Amélie
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Famous people named Amelia

Princess Amelia of Great Britain
Daughter of King George II
Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom
Daughter of King George III
Amelia Earhart
Aviator who became the first female pilot to cross the Atlantic Ocean solo
Amalberga of Maubeuge
Known as Saint Amelia, lived and died in the early medieval period
Amelia Boynton Robinson
Civil rights activist whose work focused on voting rights for Black Americans
Amelia Bloomer
Founder of The Lily newspaper and feminist
Amelia Fiona J. Driver
Real name of actress Minnie Driver, who starred in Good Will Hunting, Circle of Friends, and The Phantom of the Opera

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