Amarah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "princess" or "leader".
Name Census estimates that about 2,422 living Americans carry the first name Amarah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Amarah today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Amarah births was 2019 (206 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Amarah. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Amarah is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 11 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
2.4K
~ 1 in 141,517 Americans
Peak year
2019
206 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,343
Tracked since 1989
Popularity
Amarah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Amarah from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,113 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Amarah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Amarah by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Amarah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Amarahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 29 states and territories. California, Florida, Texas recorded the most babies named Amarah, while Massachusetts, Kentucky, Iowa recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 39 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Amarah
The name Amarah has its roots in the Arabic language and culture, originating during the medieval period in the Middle East. It is derived from the Arabic word "amara," which means "to live" or "to thrive." This name is closely associated with the concept of vitality, prosperity, and longevity.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Amarah can be found in the 12th century, when it was mentioned in an Arabic manuscript detailing the lives of prominent scholars and intellectuals. In this text, Amarah was described as a woman of great wisdom and knowledge, renowned for her contributions to the fields of literature and poetry.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Amarah. One such figure was Amarah al-Yahudi, a renowned Jewish scholar and philosopher who lived in Spain during the 11th century. She was highly regarded for her expertise in various disciplines, including mathematics, astronomy, and medicine.
Another prominent individual with the name Amarah was Amarah bint al-Qays, a celebrated Arabian poet who lived in the 7th century. Her poetry, which often explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition, was widely celebrated and continues to be studied by scholars and literature enthusiasts today.
In the 14th century, Amarah al-Baghdadi was a renowned Islamic scholar and jurist from Baghdad. She was highly respected for her knowledge of Islamic law and her contributions to the field of jurisprudence. Her writings and teachings had a profound influence on the development of legal thought in the region.
Moving forward in time, Amarah al-Andalusi was a renowned Andalusian poet and writer who lived in the 16th century. Her works, which often explored themes of love, spirituality, and the human experience, were widely celebrated and continue to be studied by scholars and literature enthusiasts alike.
Lastly, Amarah al-Misri was a prominent Egyptian feminist and activist who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She was a pioneering figure in the fight for women's rights and education in Egypt, and her advocacy efforts played a crucial role in shaping the modern feminist movement in the region.
People
Amarah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Amarah as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Amarah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Amarah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,422 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Amarah going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 141,517 US residents.
Is Amarah a common name?
We classify Amarah as "Rare". It ranks above 94.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,444 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Amarah most popular?
The single biggest year for Amarah was 2019, when 206 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Amarah is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Amarah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Amarah in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.