Amerah
An Arabic name meaning "princess" or "female commander".
Name Census estimates that about 418 living Americans carry the first name Amerah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Amerah today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Amerah births was 2009 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Amerah. 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 Amerah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
418
~ 1 in 819,986 Americans
Peak year
2009
27 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,452
Tracked since 1982
Census
Amerah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 310 people with the first name Amerah, which placed it at #28,807 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
#28,807
National first-name rank
People counted
310
310 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
43.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Amerah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Amerah is Black at 43.9%. The next largest groups are White (27.4%) and Two or More Races (13.5%). 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 Amerah 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 Amerah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American43.9% · 136
- White27.4% · 85
- Two or more races13.5% · 42
- Hispanic or Latino11.3% · 35
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.9% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 3
Popularity
Amerah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Amerah from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 167 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Amerah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Amerah 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 Amerah 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 Amerah
The name Amerah is believed to have its roots in Arabic culture and linguistics. It is derived from the Arabic word "amir," which means "ruler" or "commander." The name carries a connotation of leadership, authority, and power.
In the historical context, the name Amerah can be traced back to the early Islamic era, around the 7th century. During this period, the name was prevalent among the aristocratic and ruling classes, as it symbolized the qualities desired in a leader. The name's association with leadership and governance may have contributed to its popularity.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Amerah can be found in the writings of renowned Arab scholars and historians from the medieval period. It is mentioned in various chronicles and manuscripts, often referring to influential figures from the Islamic world.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Amerah. One such figure was Amerah bint Abdulmalik (685-701), the daughter of the Umayyad Caliph Abdul Malik ibn Marwan. She was renowned for her intelligence and literary abilities, and her poetry was highly regarded in her time.
Another prominent figure was Amerah al-Yamani (1031-1107), a renowned scholar and poet from Yemen. She was well-versed in various disciplines, including literature, linguistics, and Islamic jurisprudence, and her works were widely celebrated during the Abbasid era.
In the 13th century, Amerah al-Qurashi (1215-1290) was a respected Islamic scholar and jurist from Mecca. She gained recognition for her extensive knowledge of Sharia law and her contributions to the field of Islamic jurisprudence.
During the Ottoman period, Amerah Sultan (1600-1664) was a prominent figure in the Ottoman court. She was the daughter of Sultan Ahmed I and is remembered for her patronage of the arts and her involvement in charitable endeavors.
In more recent times, Amerah Saleh (1915-2005) was a notable Palestinian writer and activist. She played a significant role in advocating for Palestinian rights and raising awareness about the struggles of her people through her literary works.
While the name Amerah has its origins in the Arabic language and Islamic culture, it has transcended geographical boundaries and gained recognition in various parts of the world. The name's association with leadership, authority, and strength has contributed to its enduring appeal across different eras and cultures.
People
Amerah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Amerah 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
Amerah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Amerah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 418 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Amerah 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 819,986 US residents.
Is Amerah a common name?
We classify Amerah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 423 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Amerah most popular?
The single biggest year for Amerah was 2009, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Amerah is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Amerah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 310 people with the name Amerah, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,807 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 Amerah 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 Amerah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Amerah appears almost entirely female. Of the 305 people counted with this name, 99.0% 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 Amerah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Amerah is Black at 43.9%. The next largest groups are White (27.4%) and Two or More Races (13.5%). 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 Amerah most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Amerah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 43.9% (136 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 Amerah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Amerah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Amerah 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 Amerah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Amerah 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 Amerah 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 Amerah?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.