| [ 2 syll. a-my, am-y ] The girl name Amy is pronounced EYMiy KEY. Amy's language of origin is Latin and it is predominantly used in English. Derived from amatus which means 'beloved' ; amare which means 'to love'. Old forms of the name include the Latin Amata, the Old French Amee, and the Latin Amicia. The name is Anglicized from Amee, itelf originally a nickname of Amata. The latter could be from the Latin 'amatus' and ultimately 'amare', or it could be from a distinct pre-Roman source. In Roman mythology, the name was borne by the wife of King Latinus; her daughter Lavinia later became the wife of Aeneas. The name was also borne by Saint Amata, a 13th century saint of Bologna. The name was adopted by English speakers in the 16th century. It was often bestowed by parents in expression of their love for the child. The name later saw a revival in the 19th century, which also saw the adoption of the French form Aimee by English speakers. In literature, the name was borne by the titular character Amy Dorrit in Charles Dickens' novel Little Dorrit (1855-1857) and by one of four sisters, Amy March, in Louisa May Alcott's novel Little Women (1868,1869). Amy is the feminine form of the English Amyas. Amy has 12 forms that are used in both English and foreign languages. English forms of Amy include Aimee, Aimi, Aimie, Aimy, Ami, Amie, Amiee, Ammie, Amye, and Aymi. Forms of the name used in foreign languages include the French Aimée and the Spanish and German Amata. See also the related form, the Welsh and English Ceri. Amy is a popular baby girl name. The name increased in popularity from the 1930s up to the 1970s. At the peak of its usage in 1975, 2.067% of baby girls were named Amy. It was #2 in rank then. The baby name has suffered a steep decline in frequency since then. In 2007, it ranked at #119 with a usage of only 0.134%, but it was nevertheless the most popular out of all girl names in its family. Amy was used 8 times more than the next ranked name, the English Aimee, in 2007. The name Amy has been primarily given to girls, although it has also been used as a boy name in the last century. In 1977, 378 times more girls than boys were given the name Amy. Baby names that sound like Amy include the English Aimee, the French Aimée, the English Aimi, the English Aimie, the English Aimy, the English Aymi, the African, Finnish, Scandinavian, and Catalan Aina, the Finnish Aino, the Russian Anya, the Turkish Emine, the English, French, and German Emma, the English Emmy, the Frisian and German Enna, the English Enya, the Lithuanian Agné, and the Polish and Russian Ania. KEY: Pronunciation for Amy: EY as in "ate (EY.T)" ; M as in "me (M.IY)" ; IY as in "eat (IY.T)"
Details of famous persons named Amy:
Actress Amy Adams, born 20 August 1974, Vicenza, Italy.
Actress Amy Jo Johnson, born 6 October 1970, Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Author Amy Tan, born 19 February 1952, Oakland, California.
Aviator Amy Johnson, born 1 July 1903 - 5 January 1941, Thames Estuary, London, England.
Noblewoman Amy Robsart, born 7 June 1532 - 8 September 1560, Norfolk, England.
Noblewoman Amy Robsart, born Amy Dudley 7 June 1532 - 8 September 1560, Norfolk, England.
Poet Amy Lowell, born Amy Lawrence Lowell 9 February 1874 - 12 May 1925, Brookline, Massachusetts.
Political Relative Amy Carter, born 19 October 1967, Plains, Georgia.
Pop Musician Amy Grant, born 25 November 1960, Augusta, Georgia.
Singer Amy Lee, born 13 December 1981, Riverside, California. |
