Amarilis
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "the unfading flower".
Name Census estimates that about 707 living Americans carry the first name Amarilis. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Amarilis today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Amarilis births was 1990 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Amarilis. 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.
People living today
707
~ 1 in 484,801 Americans
Peak year
1990
27 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,128
Tracked since 1961
Census
Amarilis in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,380 people with the first name Amarilis, which placed it at #6,674 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#6,674
National first-name rank
People counted
2.4K
2,380 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
97.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Amarilis
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Amarilis is Hispanic at 97.4%. The next largest groups are White (1.4%) and Black (0.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Amarilis described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Amarilis at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino97.4% · 2,318
- White1.4% · 34
- Black or African American0.6% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
- Two or more races0.1% · 3
Popularity
Amarilis: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Amarilis from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 184 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Amarilis 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 Amarilis during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Amarilis' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. New York, California, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Amarilis, while Texas, Pennsylvania, Connecticut recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 22 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Amarilis
The name Amarilis is derived from the Greek word "amarantos," which means "unfading" or "everlasting." It is believed to have originated in ancient Greece, where it was initially used as a poetic term to describe the unfading beauty of certain flowers or plants.
In Greek mythology, Amaryllis was a shy nymph who fell in love with Alteo, a shepherd. To gain his attention, she pierced her heart with a golden arrow, and from her spilled blood, a beautiful red flower bloomed. This flower was named after her, and it became a symbol of love and devotion.
The name Amarilis first appeared in written form in the 16th century, when the Italian poet Battista Guarini (1537-1612) used it in his pastoral tragicomedy "Il Pastor Fido" (The Faithful Shepherd). The character Amarilis was portrayed as a beautiful and virtuous shepherdess.
One of the earliest recorded instances of Amarilis as a given name dates back to the 17th century. Amarilis de Ganay (1611-1688) was a French noblewoman and courtier at the court of Louis XIV. She was known for her intelligence and influence in literary circles.
Another notable figure with the name Amarilis was Amarilis Fuentes (1892-1978), a Cuban poet and essayist. She was a prominent figure in the cultural renaissance of Cuba in the early 20th century and made significant contributions to the literary movement known as "Afro-Antillian poetry."
In the 18th century, Amarilis Beaufort (1715-1789) was a French playwright and novelist. Her works explored themes of love, virtue, and social commentary, reflecting the values and ideals of the Enlightenment era.
Amarilis Torrida (1888-1977) was an Italian opera singer and actress. She performed in several operas and operettas throughout Europe and gained international acclaim for her powerful voice and stage presence.
Amarilis Ávila (1913-1994) was a Venezuelan painter and sculptor. She was a pioneering figure in the development of modern art in Venezuela and is renowned for her abstract and surrealist works that explored the themes of nature, mythology, and the human condition.
While the name Amarilis has Greek origins, it has been adopted and used across various cultures and languages throughout history, testament to its enduring beauty and timeless appeal.
People
Amarilis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Amarilis 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
Amarilis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Amarilis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 707 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Amarilis 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 484,801 US residents.
Is Amarilis a common name?
We classify Amarilis as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 739 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Amarilis most popular?
The single biggest year for Amarilis was 1990, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Amarilis is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Amarilis in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,380 people with the name Amarilis, or 0.79 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,674 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Amarilis in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Amarilis?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Amarilis appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,383 people counted with this name, 99.5% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Amarilis?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Amarilis is Hispanic at 97.4%. The next largest groups are White (1.4%) and Black (0.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Amarilis most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Amarilis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.4% (2,318 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Amarilis in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Amarilis a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Amarilis 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.
Is Amarilis still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Amarilis in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Amarilis can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many Americans are named Amarilis?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.