| Pronunciation | /əˈmændə/ ə-MAN-də |
|---|---|
| Gender | Female |
| Origin | |
| Language(s) | Latin |
| Meaning | “she who must (or is fit to) be loved”; "beautiful”; "deserving to be loved"; "beloved". |
| Other names | |
| See also | |
Amanda is a Latin feminine gerundive (i.e. verbal adjective) name meaning, literally, “she who must (or is fit to) be loved”. Other translations, with similar meaning, could be "deserving to be loved," "worthy of love," or "loved very much by everyone."[1][2] Its diminutive form includes Mandy, Manda and Amy. It is common in countries where Germanic and Romance languages are spoken.
"Amanda" comes from ama- (the stem of the Latin verb amare, "to love") plus the feminine nominative singular gerundive ending (-nda). Other names, especially female names, were derived from this verb form, such as “Miranda”.
The name "Amanda" occasionally appears in Late Antiquity, such as the Amanda who was the 'wife of the ex-advocate and ex-provincial governor Aper (q.v.); she cared for his estates and raised their children after he adopted the monastic life: "curat illa saeculi curas, ne tu cures”' [Paul. Nol. Epist. 44.4].[3]
In England the name "Amanda" first appears in 1212 on a birth record from Warwickshire, England, and five centuries later the name was popularized by poets and playwrights.[4] In the United States, "Amanda" slowly became more prominent from the 1930s to the 1960s, ranking among the top 200 baby names.[4]
From 1976 to 1995, "Amanda" ranked in the ten most popular female baby names in the United States. The name was most popular from 1978 to 1992, when it ranked in the top four.[citation needed] At its prime, in 1980, it was the second most popular. In 2009, "Amanda" ranked number 166. It was ranked among the top ten names given to girls born in Puerto Rico in 2009. The name has also recently been popular in Sweden, where it ranked twentieth for girls born in 2009, down five places from the year 2008. It is also popular in Swedish-speaking families in Finland, where it ranked among the top ten names for girls born to this demographic group.[citation needed]
