Amber

What Amber means

Means “ambergris”

From amber, from Middle English ambre, from Old French ambre, from Latin ambar, from Arabic عَنْبَر (ʕanbar, “ambergris”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Amber” (revision 90955852), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Amber?

US: Falling: down from #334 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #57 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1986, when 16,954 girls got the name (#13 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 2,790 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 839 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 497 baby girls in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in NV (1.09 per 1,000 girls), UT (0.88 per 1,000 girls), CO (0.81 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Amber is #520 in the US and #164 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Amber were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Ember1,952 US · 192 E&W
• Ambar108 US · 15 E&W
• Embyr12 US
• Ambra0 US · 6 E&W

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

Spelling variants on Wiktionary

• Ambar

Listed as alternative forms on Wiktionary.

If you like Amber

Girls

• Holly#416“wood, clearing, meadow”^*
• April#542“the month of the goddess Venus”^*
• Raven#404Editor’s note Up from #486 in 2015 to #404 in 2025 in the US
• Angel#546Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 2002, with 3,100 babies; 551 in 2025
• Destiny#635Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #186 in 2015, #635 in 2025
• Hope#352Editor’s note Down from #225 in 2015 to #352 in 2025 in the US

For a brother

• Edward#224“wealth, riches + ward, guard”^*
• Harold#991“army + ruler, authority”^*
• Edgar#486“rich + spear”^*
• Alvin#838“elf + friend”^*
• Trey#883Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1999, with 1,798 babies; 269 in 2025
• Alfred#840“elf + counsel”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under English, Sanskrit & Indian, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Amber’s. Rank is US 2025.