Amare
A name of Ethiopian origin meaning "truth", "love", or "grace".
Name Census estimates that about 6,414 living Americans carry the first name Amare. It is a predominantly male name (94.1% of registrations). The average person named Amare today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Amare births was 2011 (665 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Amare. 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
- • Amare is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 14 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
6.4K
~ 1 in 53,438 Americans
Peak year
2011
665 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,071
Tracked since 1997
Gender
Gender distribution for Amare
Amare leans heavily male at 94.1% of total registrations, but 380 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Amare as a male name
- Ranked #2,071 in 2024
- 72 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2011 (639 births)
Amare as a female name
- Ranked #10,291 in 2024
- 9 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2012 (28 births)
Popularity
Amare: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Amare from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 3,585 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Amare 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 Amare during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Amares live
The SSA's state-level files cover 37 states and territories. New York, Texas, California recorded the most babies named Amare, while Rhode Island, Iowa, Delaware recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 138 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Amare
The name Amare has its origins in the Amharic language, which is one of the Semitic languages spoken in Ethiopia. Amharic is the official working language of Ethiopia and is believed to have originated sometime between the 9th and 14th centuries.
Amare is derived from the Amharic word "amar," which means "grace" or "blessing." The name carries a positive and uplifting connotation, reflecting the idea of being favored or gifted with good fortune and divine grace.
The earliest known recorded use of the name Amare can be traced back to the medieval period in Ethiopia, where it was commonly given to children as a way of expressing hope and gratitude for the blessings bestowed upon them.
One of the earliest historical figures to bear the name Amare was Amare Neway, an Ethiopian nobleman and military leader who lived in the late 16th century. He played a significant role in defending the Ethiopian Empire against the Ottoman Empire's invasions during the Adal War.
Another notable figure named Amare was Amare Tekle, an Ethiopian poet and scholar who lived in the 18th century. He was renowned for his contributions to Amharic literature and his works exploring religious and philosophical themes.
In more recent history, Amare Worku was an Ethiopian Olympic athlete who competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. He participated in the marathon event and finished in 11th place.
Amare Stoudemire, a former professional basketball player from the United States, is perhaps one of the most famous individuals to bear the name Amare. He was born in 1982 and had a successful career in the NBA, playing for teams such as the Phoenix Suns and the New York Knicks.
Amare Gebru, born in 1964, is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who won the Rotterdam Marathon in 1991 and 1993, setting a course record in the latter year.
While the name Amare has its roots in the Ethiopian culture and language, it has gained popularity and recognition around the world, transcending cultural boundaries and serving as a reminder of the universal desire for grace and blessings in one's life.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Amare
People
Amare + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Amare 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
Amare: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Amare?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6,414 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Amare 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 53,438 US residents.
Is Amare a common name?
We classify Amare as "Rare". It ranks above 97% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6,471 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Amare most popular?
The single biggest year for Amare was 2011, when 665 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Amare is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Amare a male name?
Yes, 94.1% of people registered as Amare in the SSA data are male. 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.