Amelia is a feminine given name. Its English form was likely influenced by the names Amalia, derived from the Germanic root amal, with meanings "vigorous, active, work", and Emilia, derived from the name of the Roman Aemilia gens. The name of the gens is likely derived from the Latin word aemulus, meaning rival. The name Amelia has been associated with both names.
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Popularity
The name has been popular in the Anglosphere and throughout Europe in the 21st century, as well as in other countries. Its increase in popularity has been attributed to an elegant image and associations with American aviator Amelia Earhart, as well as a similarity in sound to previously popular names such as Amanda, Amy, and Emily, and to having the fashionable ia ending of other popular names Sophia and Olivia. All make the name seem "different but not too different."
In 2022, in the United States, the name Amelia was given to 12,333 girls, making it the fourth most popular name. It was also the fourth most popular name given to girls in Canada that year.
Notable people
Amalberga of Maubeuge (died 690), Saint Amelia, early medieval saint
Princess Amelia of Great Britain (1711–1786)
Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom (1783–1810)
Amelia Adamo (born 1947), Swedish magazine founder and editor
Amelia Adams, Australian journalist, news presenter, producer and reporter
Amelia Andersdotter (born 1987), Swedish politician
Amelia Barbieri (1918–2016), Italian nurse, midwife, and lay missionary
Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr (1831–1911), English novelist
Amelia Bauerle (1873–1916), British painter, illustrator, and etcher
Amelia Beauclerc (1790–1820), British Gothic novelist
Amelia Bloomer (1818–1894), American feminist, started the newspaper The Lily, popularized bloomers
Amelia Bullmore (born 1964), English actress
Amelia Cass (born 1999), British para-cyclist
Amelia R. Coats (1877–1967), American printmaker
Amelia Crowley (fl. 1995-), Irish actress
Amelia Dimoldenberg (born 1994), English journalist and comedian
Minnie Driver (born Amelia Fiona J. Driver, 1970), English actress
Amelia Dyer (1837–1896), English serial killer
Amelia Earhart (1897–1937), American aviator and feminist
Amelia Robles Ávila, known as Amelio Robles Ávila (1889–1984), colonel during the Mexican Revolution
Amelia Rose Earhart (born 1983), American pilot and news anchor
Amelia Edwards (1831–1892), English novelist, journalist, traveler and Egyptologist
Amelia Gentleman (born 1972), British journalist
Amelia Gething (born 1999), English actress and writer
Amelia S. Givin (1845–1915), American businesswoman, philanthropist
Amelia Elizabeth Roe Gordon (1852–1932), British-born Canadian social reformer
Amelia Gray Hamlin (born 2001), American actress, daughter of Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin
Amelia Henderson (born 1995), Malaysian-British actress, presenter, YouTuber and model
Amelia Hertzówna (1879–1942), Polish writer and cultural historian
Amelia Horne (1839–1921), British memoir writer
Amelia Mary Irvine (1866–1950), Irish author who wrote as A. M. Irvine
Amelia Meath (born 1988), American musician, songwriter, producer, and dancer
Amelia Keane, American politician
Amelia Kemp, English footballer
Amelia Kyambadde (born 1955), Ugandan politician, philanthropist and Women's activist
Amelia Lambrick (1864–1956), Australian public servant
Amelia Lewsham (c. 1748 – after 1797), Jamaican woman with albinism, enslaved and exhibited as the "White Negress" in London, subjected to examination
Amelia Lily (born 1994), English singer
Amelia Heinle Luckinbill (born 1973), American actress
Amelia Okoli (1941–2017), Nigerian high jumper
Amelia Opie (1769–1853), English author and abolitionist
Amelia Peláez (1897–1968), Cuban painter
Amelia Perrier (1841–1875), Irish novelist and travel writer
Amelia Piper (1796–1856), American former slave and abolitionist
Amelia Rajecki (born 2002), British tennis player
Amelia Atwater-Rhodes (born 1984), American author
Amelia Boynton Robinson (1911–2015), American activist and civil rights leader
Amelia Solar de Claro (1836–1915), Chilean poet, playwright and essayist
Amelia M. Starkweather (1840–1926), American educator and author
Amelia Peabody Tileston (1872–1920), American Red Cross worker
Amelia Warren Tyagi (born 1971), American businesswoman, management consultant, and author
Amelia Walsh (born 1992), Canadian cyclist
Amelia Vega (born 1984), Miss Universe 2003, from the Dominican Republic
Amelia Warner (born 1982), English actress
Amelia Watson (1856–1934), American watercolorist
Amelia Watson (streamer), Virtual YouTuber
Amelia B. Coppuck Welby (1819–1852), American poet
Lady Amelia Windsor (born 1995), English model
Amelia Kempshall Wing (1837–1927), American author and philanthropist
Amelia Frank (1906–1937), American physicist
Fictional characters
Title character in Henry Fielding's novel Amelia (novel)
Amelia Jones, one of the main characters in Power Rangers Dino Fury and Power Rangers Cosmic Fury
Title character in Amelia's Notebooks, a series of books by Marissa Moss
Amelia Jane, doll antiheroine of a children's book series by Enid Blyton
Amelia (Underworld), the only female Vampire Elder in the Underworld film series
Amelia Bedelia, title character in books by Peggy Parish
Amelia Bones, in the Harry Potter series
Amelia Bonetti, character portrayed by Giulietta Masina in the 1986 film Ginger and Fred by Federico Fellini
Amelia Brand, in the 2014 film Interstellar, played by Anne Hathaway
Amelia Gabble, an English goose in the 1970 animated film The Aristocats
Amelia Louise McBride, title character in the graphic novel series Amelia Rules! by Jimmy Gownley
Amelia "Milly" Michaelson, a character in 1986 American fantasy drama film The Boy Who Could Fly
Amelia Murgatroyd (nicknamed Amy), minor character in the 1950 novel A Murder Is Announced by Agatha Christie
Amelia Peabody, the main character in a series of mystery novels by Elizabeth Peters