Amarylis
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "sparkling" or "to sparkle".
Name Census estimates that about 140 living Americans carry the first name Amarylis. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Amarylis today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Amarylis births was 2007 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Amarylis. 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
140
~ 1 in 2,448,245 Americans
Peak year
2007
12 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,129
Tracked since 1928
Census
Amarylis in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 290 people with the first name Amarylis, which placed it at #30,183 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
#30,183
National first-name rank
People counted
290
290 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
79.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Amarylis
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Amarylis is Hispanic at 79.7%. The next largest groups are White (12.8%) and Black (5.2%). 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 Amarylis 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 Amarylis at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino79.7% · 231
- White12.8% · 37
- Black or African American5.2% · 15
- Two or more races2.1% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 1
Popularity
Amarylis: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Amarylis from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 59 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Amarylis 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 Amarylis during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Amarylis
The name Amarylis is believed to have originated from the Greek word "amarantos," which means "unfading" or "everlasting." It is associated with the amaryllis flower, known for its striking beauty and longevity. The name is thought to have been derived from the name of a shepherdess in ancient Greek pastorals, although the exact origins remain uncertain.
During the Renaissance period, the name gained popularity in literature and poetry, often used as a symbolic representation of enduring love and beauty. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the works of the Italian poet Battista Guarini, who wrote the pastoral tragicomedy "Il Pastor Fido" in the late 16th century, featuring a character named Amarilli.
In the 17th century, the name Amarylis was used by the French poet and dramatist Philippe Quinault in his opera "Amadis," which premiered in 1684. The opera featured a character named Amarylis, further popularizing the name in literary circles.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Amarylis. One of the earliest examples is Amarylis of Eresos (c. 520 BC), an ancient Greek poet and philosopher from the island of Lesbos. She is considered one of the earliest known female writers in Western literature.
Another famous bearer of the name was Amarylis Clerke (1842-1931), an Irish astronomer and writer who made significant contributions to the study of variable stars and the classification of stellar spectra. She was elected as the first female member of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1892.
In the world of literature, Amarylis Nicholson (1865-1953) was a British author and poet known for her works exploring themes of spirituality and mysticism. Her poetry collection "The Wild Flower of Siena" was published in 1916.
Amarylis de Gavre (1890-1974) was a Belgian artist and sculptor who gained recognition for her avant-garde works in the early 20th century. She was a prominent figure in the Parisian art scene and exhibited her works alongside renowned artists such as Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse.
In the realm of music, Amarylis Fleming (1912-1986) was an American soprano and opera singer. She performed with various opera companies, including the Metropolitan Opera, and was known for her interpretations of roles in works by composers like Richard Strauss and Benjamin Britten.
People
Amarylis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Amarylis 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
Amarylis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Amarylis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 140 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Amarylis 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 2,448,245 US residents.
Is Amarylis a common name?
We classify Amarylis as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 148 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Amarylis most popular?
The single biggest year for Amarylis was 2007, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Amarylis is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Amarylis in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 290 people with the name Amarylis, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,183 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 Amarylis 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 Amarylis?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Amarylis appears almost entirely female. Of the 290 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Amarylis?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Amarylis is Hispanic at 79.7%. The next largest groups are White (12.8%) and Black (5.2%). 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 Amarylis most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Amarylis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.7% (231 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 Amarylis in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Amarylis a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Amarylis 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 Amarylis still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Amarylis 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 Amarylis 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 people share the name Amarylis?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.