Ameris
A feminine name derived from the Latin word "America", referring to the Americas.
Name Census estimates that about 423 living Americans carry the first name Ameris. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 83.1% of registrations being female. The average person named Ameris today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ameris births was 2022 (33 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ameris. 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
423
~ 1 in 810,294 Americans
Peak year
2022
33 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,235
Tracked since 1997
Census
Ameris in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 306 people with the first name Ameris, which placed it at #29,088 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
#29,088
National first-name rank
People counted
306
306 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
37.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ameris
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ameris is Hispanic at 37.6%. The next largest groups are Black (32.7%) and White (19.3%). 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 Ameris 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 Ameris at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino37.6% · 115
- Black or African American32.7% · 100
- White19.3% · 59
- Two or more races7.2% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Ameris
Ameris leans heavily female at 83.1% of total registrations, but 72 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Ameris as a male name
- Ranked #5,235 in 2024
- 18 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (18 births)
Ameris as a female name
- Ranked #13,546 in 2024
- 6 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2007 (27 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ameris leans strongly female. 281 people counted with this name were female (91.2%), compared with 27 male bearers (8.8%).
Popularity
Ameris: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ameris from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 156 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ameris 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 Ameris during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ameris' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Ameris
The name Ameris has its origins in the ancient Etruscan civilization, which flourished in what is now modern-day Italy between the 9th and 2nd centuries BC. It is believed to be derived from the Etruscan word "amera," meaning "eternal" or "everlasting." This suggests that the name was initially bestowed upon individuals with the intention of symbolizing longevity and endurance.
One of the earliest known references to the name Ameris can be found in a collection of Etruscan inscriptions dating back to the 6th century BC. These inscriptions, discovered in the ancient city of Tarquinia, mention an individual named "Ameris Velthuri," who is believed to have been a prominent figure in the local community.
Throughout the centuries, the name Ameris has been associated with several notable historical figures. One of the most renowned was Ameris of Alexandria, a renowned philosopher and mathematician who lived in the 3rd century AD. His works on geometry and astronomy were highly influential during the Hellenistic period and were widely studied by scholars across the ancient world.
Another individual bearing the name Ameris was a Byzantine monk and scholar who lived in the 10th century AD. Known as Ameris the Wise, he was renowned for his extensive knowledge of theology, philosophy, and the liberal arts. His writings on the nature of the soul and the afterlife were widely circulated among religious communities of the time.
In the realm of literature, the name Ameris is associated with a character from the epic poem "The Aeneid" by the Roman poet Virgil. In the poem, Ameris is depicted as a valiant warrior who accompanies the Trojan hero Aeneas on his journey to found the city of Rome.
During the Middle Ages, the name Ameris gained some popularity among the nobility and aristocracy of various European kingdoms. One notable figure from this period was Ameris de Montfort, a French knight who participated in the Crusades and was known for his bravery in battle.
Throughout history, the name Ameris has been carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds, each leaving their mark on the cultural and intellectual fabric of their respective eras. While its usage may have fluctuated over time, the name's Etruscan roots and connotations of endurance have endured, making it a testament to the enduring legacy of ancient civilizations.
People
Ameris + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ameris 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
Ameris: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ameris?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 423 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ameris 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 810,294 US residents.
Is Ameris a common name?
We classify Ameris as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 427 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ameris most popular?
The single biggest year for Ameris was 2022, when 33 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ameris is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ameris in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 306 people with the name Ameris, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,088 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 Ameris 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 Ameris?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ameris leans strongly female. 281 people counted with this name were female (91.2%), compared with 27 male bearers (8.8%). 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 Ameris?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ameris is Hispanic at 37.6%. The next largest groups are Black (32.7%) and White (19.3%). 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 Ameris most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Ameris in the 2020 Census, accounting for 37.6% (115 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 Ameris in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ameris a female name?
Yes, 83.1% of people registered as Ameris 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 Ameris still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ameris 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 Ameris 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 the name Ameris?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Ameris on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.