Ameliyah
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "work of God".
Name Census estimates that about 194 living Americans carry the first name Ameliyah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ameliyah today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ameliyah births was 2017 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ameliyah. 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 Ameliyah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
194
~ 1 in 1,766,775 Americans
Peak year
2017
20 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,958
Tracked since 2007
Popularity
Ameliyah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ameliyah from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 128 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Ameliyah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ameliyah 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 Ameliyah 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 Ameliyah
The name Ameliyah is a modern variant of the name Amelia, which has its roots in the Germanic language. The name Amelia is derived from the ancient Germanic word "amal," which means "work" or "labor." This suggests that the name was originally intended to convey a sense of diligence and industriousness.
The name Amelia first gained popularity in the Middle Ages, particularly in Italy and France. It is believed to have been introduced to these regions by Germanic tribes during their migrations and conquests. Over time, the name became widely adopted throughout Europe and evolved into various spellings and forms, such as Amelie, Emilia, and eventually, Ameliyah.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Amelia can be found in the writings of the Roman poet Silius Italicus (26-101 AD), who mentioned a character named Amelia in his epic work, Punica. However, the name did not gain widespread popularity until the Renaissance period, when it was embraced by the nobility and aristocracy.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Ameliyah or its variants. One of the earliest examples is Princess Amelia of Great Britain (1711-1786), the second daughter of King George II. Another prominent figure was Amelia Bloomer (1818-1894), an American women's rights activist who advocated for the adoption of practical and comfortable clothing for women, which became known as "bloomers."
In the realm of literature, Amelia is the title of a novel by Henry Fielding (1707-1754), which follows the story of a young woman named Amelia. The novel was highly influential and is considered one of the earliest examples of the English novel form.
Other notable individuals with the name Ameliyah or its variants include Amelia Earhart (1897-1937), the pioneering American aviator who became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean; Amelia Opie (1769-1853), an English novelist and poet; and Amelia Mary Earhart (1776-1863), an American educator and pioneer in women's education.
While the name Ameliyah is a relatively modern spelling, it carries a rich history and cultural significance rooted in its Germanic origins and its association with diligence, hard work, and notable achievements throughout the centuries.
People
Ameliyah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ameliyah 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
Ameliyah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ameliyah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 194 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ameliyah 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 1,766,775 US residents.
Is Ameliyah a common name?
We classify Ameliyah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 195 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ameliyah most popular?
The single biggest year for Ameliyah was 2017, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ameliyah is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Ameliyah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ameliyah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ameliyah 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 Ameliyah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ameliyah 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 Ameliyah 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Ameliyah?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.