When you shop through links on our site, we may receive compensation. This educational content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice.

Amy Name Meaning: Origin, Popularity & Nicknames

Updated
Learn about the name Amy including the meaning, gender, origin, popularity, and more.

Amy Overview

  • Meaning: Amy comes from the French name “Amee” or the Latin name “Amata,” meaning “beloved” or “well-loved.”
  • Gender: Amy is typically a girl’s name.
  • Origin: The name Amy has French and Latin origins.
  • Pronunciation: “AIM-ee”
  • Popularity: Amy was the 188th most popular girl’s name in 2021, with 1,558 girls in the United States getting the name Amy.
  • Nicknames: Am, Ames, Aimes, Ammie, Mimi.
  • Variations: Aime, Aimee, Aimi, Amee, Ami, Amie, Amita, Eimy, Eymi.
  • Namesakes: Amy Adams, Amy Poehler, Amy Winehouse.

What Does Amy Mean?

Amy comes from the French feminine name “Aimee” or the Latin name “Amata,” meaning “beloved” or “well-loved” (1).

What is the Origin of the Name Amy?

The name Amy has French and Latin origins.

How Popular is the Name Amy?

In 2021, Amy was the 188th most popular girl’s name, with 1,558 girls in the United States getting the name Amy. So, one out of every 1,142 girls was named Amy. (2)

Amy was first popular in the late nineteenth century when Little Women was released but has seen steady popularity ever since. It slightly declined in popularity in the early 20th century but shot up in the 1960s and 1970s (3).

How Do I Pronounce Amy?

You pronounce the name Amy like “AIM-ee.”

Is Amy a Boy or Girl Name?

Amy is usually a girl’s name.

Variations of Amy

Amy is a variation on a few different names, so we shall take a look at them below:

  • Aime: French, meaning “beloved.”
  • Aimee: French, meaning “beloved.”
  • Aimi: Japanese, meaning “beautiful love.”
  • Amee: French, meaning “beloved.”
  • Ami: French, meaning “friend.”
  • Amie: French, meaning “friend.”
  • Amita: Indian, Hebrew, and Italian, meaning “infinite” or “boundless.”
  • Eimy: Dominican Republic, meaning “beloved.”
  • Eymi: English, meaning “a woman who is loved.”

Nicknames for Amy

Even though Amy is already a pretty short feminine name, you can create a couple of funny and cute nicknames for it. See our favorites below and see what you think:

  • Am
  • Ames
  • Aimes
  • Ammie
  • Mimi

Similar Names to Amy

Maybe you’re not quite feeling Amy. That’s okay. There are plenty of other names similar to Amy, like the ones below.

Middle Names for Amy

When looking for middle names for Amy, any variety of sounds and syllables will do nicely. Some of our favorite middle names for Amy include:

Sibling Names for Amy

The name Amy adds a sweet touch to a group of siblings, and these names complement each other like French fries and milkshakes or peanut butter and jelly.

For a girl:

For a boy:

Famous People Named Amy

When naming your Amy, you might take inspiration from some Amys you’ve seen worldwide. Such people might include actors, artists, athletes, and other Amy’s like:

  • Amy Adams: American actress.
  • Amy Bruckner: American actress and singer.
  • Amy Diamond: Swedish singer.
  • Amy Grant: American contemporary Christian pop singer.
  • Amy Irving: American actress.
  • Amy Jo Johnson: American actress, musician, and singer-songwriter.
  • Amy Lee: American pianist, singer-songwriter, and lead vocalist for the American band Evanescence.
  • Amy McDonald: American author.
  • Amy Phillips: British impressionist and comedian.
  • Amy Poehler: American comedian and actress.
  • Amy Schumer: American comedian and actress.
  • Amy Sedaris: American actress, writer, and comedian.
  • Amy Spanger: American actress.
  • Amy Winehouse: British singer and songwriter.
  • Amy Yasbeck: American actress.

Amy in Popular Culture

With a short and pretty name like Amy, you can bet there are all kinds of Amys across media. Some of these Amys in popular culture include:

  • Amy Anderson: Sailor Mercury’s civilian name in the anime Sailor Moon.
  • Amy Dunne: the main character from the novel Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.
  • Amy Duncan: a character from the American comedy TV series Good Luck, Charlie.
  • Amy Farrah Fowler: a character from the American comedy TV series The Big Bang Theory.
  • Amy Gardner: a character from the American drama TV series The West Wing.
  • Amy Green: Rachel’s younger sister in the American TV comedy series Friends.
  • Amy Madison: a character from the American fantasy TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
  • Amy March: one of the protagonists of the American children’s novel Little Women.
  • Amy Matthews: mother of Cory Matthews from the American TV series Boy Meets World.
  • Amy Juergens: the main character of the American drama TV series The Secret Life of the American Teenager.
  • Amy Pond: a companion to the Eleventh Doctor in the BBC TV series Doctor Who.
  • Amy Sosa: a main character from the American TV comedy series Superstore.
  • Amy Szalinski: a character from the Honey I Shrunk the Kids film franchise.
  • Patricia “Fat Amy” Hobart: a character from the Pitch Perfect films.

Amy FAQs

It may seem like you have learned all you need to know about the name Amy. There are a few more facts about the name that might surprise you, so let’s look at those.

Is Amy a Religious Name?

Amy is not a particularly religious name in Christianity. It does mean “beloved,” which some people can interpret as “beloved by God” if they like.

Is Amy an Old-Fashioned Name?

Many people may consider Amy a contemporary name, but it has trended a few times in the past two hundred years, most notably in the 1880s, shortly after the novel Little Women came out.

Whether you consider Amy an old-fashioned female name may depend on whether it is short for anything. A name like Amelia, for instance, may be regarded as old-fashioned, and the nickname Amy may be old-fashioned too.

Does Amy Mean Friend?

In most variations, Amy means some variation of “beloved” or “well-loved.” However, Amy is also a variation of the Latin girl name “Amicus” or the French “Amey,” both of which mean “friend.”

Feedback: Was This Article Helpful?
Thank You For Your Feedback!
Thank You For Your Feedback!
What Did You Like?
What Went Wrong?