Amber
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "jewel" or "amber gemstone".
Name Census estimates that about 354,688 living Americans carry the first name Amber. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Amber today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Amber births was 1986 (17,009 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Amber. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Amber with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Amber is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 979 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Compared to the 1980s, recent registration numbers for Amber have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
355K
~ 1 in 966 Americans
Peak year
1986
17,009 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2009 SSA rank
#541
Tracked since 1880
Census
Amber in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 322,914 people with the first name Amber, which placed it at #159 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
#159
National first-name rank
People counted
323K
322,914 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
106.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
75.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Amber
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Amber is White at 75.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.5%) and Black (8.1%). 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 Amber 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 Amber at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.7% · 244,486
- Hispanic or Latino8.5% · 27,318
- Black or African American8.1% · 26,286
- Two or more races4.9% · 15,898
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 5,548
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 3,378
Gender
Gender distribution for Amber
Out of the 375,082 babies given the name Amber since 1880, 99.7% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Amber as a male name
- Ranked #11,066 in 2009
- 6 male births in 2009
- Peak: 1988 (62 births)
Amber as a female name
- Ranked #541 in 2024
- 558 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1986 (16,955 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Amber appears almost entirely female. Of the 322,911 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Amber: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Amber from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 154,477 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Amber 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 Amber during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ambers live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Amber, while Rhode Island, District of Columbia, Vermont recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7,279 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Amber
The given name Amber has its origins in the Arabic 'anbar', which means ambergris, a solid fragrant material produced in the digestive system of sperm whales. The name is derived from the Old French 'ambre', which itself comes from the Arabic term. Ambergris was highly prized in ancient times for its use in perfumery and as a flavor ingredient.
The name Amber first appeared in English in the late 14th century, initially as a term for the fossilized tree resin used in jewelry and ornaments. Over time, it transitioned from a noun describing the material to a feminine given name, with one of the earliest recorded uses as a first name being in 1471.
In the 16th century, the name gained popularity in England and other parts of Europe, likely due to the increasing trade and fascination with exotic materials from the Middle East and Asia. The name Amber was particularly favored by the upper classes, who could afford the luxury of ambergris and amber jewelry.
One of the earliest notable figures with the name Amber was Amber Petre (1572-1619), an English Roman Catholic martyr who was canonized by the Catholic Church. Another early bearer of the name was Amber St. Clair (1629-1685), a French-born English courtier and mistress of King Charles II.
In the 18th century, the name Amber was borne by Amber Reeves (1701-1778), an English author and poet. In the 19th century, Amber Arbulich (1844-1923) was a British actress and singer who performed in London's West End theaters.
One of the most famous historical figures with the name Amber was Amber Rudd (1963-), a British politician who served as Home Secretary and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in the UK government.
Throughout history, the name Amber has been associated with beauty, exoticism, and luxury, reflecting its origins in the precious materials of ambergris and amber. Its enduring popularity can be attributed to its pleasant sound, unique meaning, and connections to nature and fragrance.
People
Amber + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Amber 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
Amber: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Amber?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 354,688 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Amber 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 966 US residents.
Is Amber a common name?
We classify Amber as "Common". It ranks above 99.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 375,082 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Amber most popular?
The single biggest year for Amber was 1986, when 17,009 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Amber is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Amber in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 322,914 people with the name Amber, or 106.91 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #159 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 Amber 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 Amber?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Amber appears almost entirely female. Of the 322,911 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Amber?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Amber is White at 75.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.5%) and Black (8.1%). 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 Amber most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Amber in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.7% (244,486 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 Amber in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Amber a female name?
Yes, 99.7% of people registered as Amber 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 Amber still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Amber 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 Amber 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 have Amber as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Amber on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.