Amara
Meaning of Amara
Amara is a trans-linguistic feminine given name whose etymological strata reveal several independent origins: in Classical Latin it derives from amārus and the related participial form amārus, producing late-antique meanings of “unfading” and “everlasting”; in Greek it parallels amarantos, reinforcing the notion of imperishability; in Sanskrit it corresponds to amara, “immortal”; while in Igbo the same phonetic sequence denotes “grace” or “kindness.” Such semantic convergence has endowed the name with an academically noted thematic cluster—durability, benevolence, and spiritual poise—that transcends single-culture readings. Preserved in Italian and Spanish usage and carried forward by the vowel-rich ah-MAH-rah articulation of the Romance languages, Amara entered the Anglo-American repertoire during the later twentieth century; in English it is rendered more centrally as uh-MAHR-ə, a phonetic profile that parents often describe as simultaneously soft and self-possessed. United States birth data document a gradual but consistent ascent: from negligible presence in the early 1970s to a rank just outside the national Top 100 by 2024, evidencing a sustained, data-supported rise rather than a volatile fashion spike. Contemporary literary and screen references have broadened familiarity without monopolizing public perception, thereby keeping the name semantically open and culturally agile. In consequence, Amara now occupies a distinctive locus within modern onomastics—classical yet cosmopolitan, succinct yet sonorous, and capable of signaling both time-honored endurance and quiet grace across linguistic boundaries.
Pronunciation
Italian
- Pronunced as ah-MAH-rah (/aˈmaːra/)
Spanish
- Pronunced as ah-MAH-rah (/aˈmaɾa/)
British English
- Pronunced as uh-MAHR-uh (/əˈmɑːrə/)
American English
- Pronunced as uh-MAHR-uh (/əˈmɑrə/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Amara
| Amara Enyia is an American strategist, community organizer, and municipal consultant who coordinates policy for the Movement for Black Lives, chairs a UN civil society group, and twice ran for mayor of Chicago. |
| Amara La Negra, born Diana Danelys De Los Santos, is an American singer and TV personality of Dominican descent best known for Love and Hip Hop Miami, where Billboard named her the breakout star and she signed a multi album deal with BMG. |
| Amara, born Tuwuh Adijatitesih Amaranggana, is an Indonesian singer, actress, and model. |
| Amara Thornton is a historian of archaeology who studies late 19th and early 20th century British archaeologists in the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean, linking their work to tourism, publishing and media, education, government policy, and women's history, and is an Honorary Research Associate at UCL. |
| Amara Karan - Amara Karunakaran is an English actress known for stage and film roles. |
| Amara Majeed is a Muslim American activist and author of The Foreigners, founder of The Hijab Project, and a BBC 100 Women honoree in 2015. |
| Amara Miller is an American actress who won a Young Artist Award for her debut in The Descendants. |
