Amelia

German
"work"

Amelia Origin and Meaning

The name Amelia is a girl's name of German origin meaning "work".

Amelia is one of the hottest girls' names, a successor to the megapopular Emma and Emily. Amelia, which spent several years at Number 1 in England, is now comfortably ensconced in the US Top 10.

Now the most popular girl name starting with A, Amelia is also a Top 10 girls' name in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and Poland. So while Emilia and Emelia are sound-alike names, it's the Amelia version that's on the fast track.

Amelia is derived from the German name Amalia, which in turn is a variation of Amalberga. The root, amal, is a Germanic word meaning "work," and in the context of female given names suggests themes of fertility as well as productivity. Aemilia, the name from which Emily is derived, is unrelated to Amelia.

Kids might associate Amelia with the wacky children's book character Amelia Bedelia, while adults could appreciate it as the eponymous heroine of the Henry Fielding novel. Amelia also appears in novels by Trollope and Thackeray, as a Harry Potter name, and as detective Amelia Peabody in the Elizabeth Peters series. Angelina Jolie played patrol cop Amelia Donaghy in The Bone Collector.

Amelia became a British royal name via the daughters of Kings George II and III. American heroes who have inspired a new generation of namesakes are aviatrix Amelia Earhart and feminist Amelia Bloomer.

Trivia tidbit: Amelia is the birth name of Minnie Driver.

# 4 in the US

Amelia Rank in US Top 1000

# 23 on Nameberry

Amelia Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Amelia Popularity

Famous People Named Amelia

  • Saint Amelia aka Amalberga of Maubeuge
    7th century Belgian saint
  • Amelia Mary Earhart
    American aviator
  • Amelia Jenks Bloomer
    American feminist, popularized "bloomers"
  • Amelia Sophia Eleanor
    Princess of Great Britain, daughter of King George II
  • Amelia
    Princess of the U.K., daughter of King George III
  • Amelia Calder (Mitchel)
    wife of British Nelson,era Admiral Sir Robert Calder
  • Amelia Fiona "Minnie" Driver
    English actress
  • Amelia Heinle Luckinbill
    American actress
  • Amelia Kinkade
    American actress
  • Amelia Zirin
    Brown aka Lady Rizo, American comedienne
  • Amelia Vega (Polanco)
    Dominican beauty queen, Miss Universe 2003
  • Amelia Okoli
    Nigerian Olympic high jumper
  • Amelia Curran
    Canadian singer,songwriter
  • Amelia Opie
    English novelist
  • Amelia Holt Atwater
    Rhodes, American novelist
  • Amelia Magdalena Hundley
    American gymnast
  • Amelia Platts Boynton Robinson
    American civil rights activist
  • Amelia Bullmore
    English actress and writer
  • Amelia Fletcher
    English pop singer
  • Amelia Rose Blaire
    American actress
  • Amelia Jones
    American art historian and author
  • Amelia Adams
    Australian TV presenter
  • Amelia "Millie" Catherine (Bennett) Warner aka Slow Moving Millie
    English actress and singer, wife of Irish actor Jamie Dornan
  • Amelia Wilson
    American swimmer
  • Amelia Lily (Oliver)
    English pop singer
  • Amelia Zadro
    Australian model
  • Amelia Eisenhower Mahon
    daughter of Susan Eisenhower; granddaughter of U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower
  • Amelia Warren Tyagi
    American author; daughter of politician Elizabeth Warren
  • Mary Amelia Ingalls
    elder sister of novelist Laura Ingalls Wilder
  • Amelia Sophia Theodora Mary Margaret Windsor (b. 1995)
    daughter of the Earl of St Andrews; great,great,granddaughter of George V; in line to the British throne
  • Amelia Vernon (b. 1996)
    daughter of ice hockey player Mike Vernon
  • Amelia Gray Hamlin (b. 2001)
    daughter of actors Harry Hamlin and Lisa Rinna
  • Amelia Jane Henson (b. 2005)
    daughter of actress Mia Sara and Brian Henson
  • Amelia Skinner (b. 2009)
    daughter of rapper Mike Skinner of The Streets
  • Amelia Lucille Francisco (b. 2014)
    daughter of actors Jason Francisco and Melisa Cantiveros
  • Amelia Rose Andre (b. 2014)
    daughter of TV presenter Peter Andre
  • Amelia Ann Deen (b. 2018)
    daughter of American TV chef and personality Bobby Deen

Amelia in Pop Culture

  • "Amelia Bedelia
    " children's book series by Peggy Parish
  • Amelia "Mia" Thermopolis
    main character in "The Princess Diaries" series
  • Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun
    character in anime "Slayers"
  • Dr. Amelia Shepherd
    character on TV's "Private Practice" & "Grey's Anatomy"
  • Amelia Jessica "Amy" Pond Williams
    character on TV's "Doctor Who"
  • Amelia Donaghy
    character in movie "The Bone Collector"
  • "Amelia
    " novel by Henry Fielding and main character
  • Amelia 'Emmy' Sedley later Osbourne
    character in "Vanity Fair"
  • Amelia
    character in the "Fire Emblem" video game series
  • Amelia Peabody
    main character in books by Elizabeth Peters
  • Amelia Bonetti
    character in 1986 movie "Ginger and Fred"
  • Amelia Louise McBride
    character in graphic novel series "Amelia Rules!" by Jimmy Gownley
  • Amelia C. Voght
    character in X,Men comics
  • "Amelia's Notebook
    " book series by Marissa Moss
  • "Our Only May Amelia
    " novel by Jennifer L. Holm
  • Amelia Richardson
    character on TV's "Supernatural"
  • Amelia Joffe
    character on soap "General Hospital"
  • Amelia Gabble
    character in Disney's "The AristoCats"
  • Amelia
    main character in "In a Heartbeat" by Loretta Ellsworth
  • Amelia
    character in "Animal Crossing" video game series
  • Amelia
    character in the "Underworld" series
  • Amelia Cackle
    character on TV's "The Worst Witch"
  • "Naughty Amelia Jane
    " novel by Enid Blyton
  • Amelia the Singing Fairy
    character in the "Rainbow Magic" series
  • Amelia
    character in "The Terminal"
  • Amelia Duckworth
    character on Disney Channel's "Bizaardvark"
  • Amelia "Amy" Dubanowski
    character on NBC's "Superstore"
  • "Amelia
    " song by Tonight Alive
  • "Amelia
    " song by Joni Mitchell
  • Amelia Island
    Florida, USA
  • Amelia Hughes
    character in the animated series “Infinity Train”

Amelia in Nameberry Blog Posts