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.
