Amelia
Meaning of Amelia
Amelia comes from the Germanic element amal, meaning “work” or “industrious,” and is linked to the Amali, a leading family of the Goths. Many dictionaries also treat it as a variant of Emilia, from the Latin Aemilia, “rival” or “emulating,” so both explanations are commonly given. The name was rare before the 18th century and entered wide use in England then, helped by Henry Fielding’s novel Amelia, published in 1751.
It is pronounced uh-MEE-lee-uh in both American and British English.
Its best-known bearer is Amelia Earhart, the American aviator who set record after record and disappeared in 1937 while attempting to fly around the world. Another often-cited namesake is Amelia Bloomer, the American women’s rights and temperance advocate whose dress-reform campaigning gave the word bloomers to the language.
In the United States the name was already familiar in the late 19th century, ranking 96th in 1880, then faded over the following decades to 489th in 1968. It recovered from the 1980s onward and rose sharply after 2000, reaching third place in 2024 and fourth in 2025, when 12,699 babies were given the name.
Pronunciation
English
- Pronunced as uh-MEE-lee-uh (/əˈmiːliə/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Amelia
| Amelia Earhart was a pioneering American aviator who set records including the first solo female Atlantic crossing, championed women's rights and commercial air travel, helped form the Ninety-Nines, wrote bestsellers, and disappeared in 1937 while attempting to fly around the world. |
| Amelia Bence was a celebrated Argentine film actress and leading diva of Argentina's Golden Age cinema from the 1930s to the 1950s. |
| Amelia Boynton Robinson was an American civil rights leader in Selma and a key figure in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches. |
| Amelia Lily Oliver is an English singer and television personality who placed third on The X Factor in 2011, was runner-up on Celebrity Big Brother in 2017, and joined Geordie Shore in 2020. |
| Amelia Jenks Bloomer, an American women's rights and temperance advocate, became the first woman to own and run a newspaper for women with The Lily, and her dress reform advocacy gave her name to bloomers. |
| Amelia Randall Meath is an American musician, songwriter, and producer based in Durham, North Carolina, best known as a member of Sylvan Esso and Mountain Man. |
| Amelia Rose Earhart is an American private pilot and former Denver TV reporter who founded the Fly With Amelia Foundation in 2013 to award flight scholarships to girls ages 16 to 18. |
| Amelia Vega Polanco is a Dominican actress, model, and singer who won Miss Universe 2003 at 18, becoming the first from the Dominican Republic and the youngest winner since 1994. |
| Amelia Warren Tyagi is an American businesswoman and author who co-founded Business Talent Group and HealthAllies, co-wrote two books with her mother Elizabeth Warren, and has served with Demos, Fuse Corps, and Marketplace. |
| Amelia Matilda Murray was a British botanist, writer, and courtier who in 1856 published a book defending slavery. |
| Princess Amelia of Nassau-Weilburg was born a Princess of Nassau and became Duchess of Anhalt-Bernburg through marriage. |
