Amanda

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Amanda

Gender: Feminine
Language: English

Etymology:
Amanda comes from Latin. It means “Lovable” from “amare” (to love).

History:
There did exist a 5th century man named St. Amandus and a 6th century man named St. Amand, and the odd medieval girl may have been named Amanda in their honor. If it existed then at all it was highly, highly rare.

The modern name Amanda was probably invented by Colley Cibber for the character of the virtuous wife in his popular 1696 play Love’s Last Shift. Sir John Vanbrugh created a popular sequel/send-up with his 1696 play The Relapse, and Richard Brinsley Sheridan “remade” Vanbrugh’s play in 1777. The name Amanda was used in all three plays. Cibber may have created his name in imitation of the Shakespeare-coined “Miranda.”

It was later used in popular 18th century novels like 1751’s satirical Peregrine Pickle or Regina Maria Roche’s 1797 Gothic tale The Children of the Abbey.

In any case, Amanda became a popular name in the 19th century, and again found favor in the late 20th century.

Pronunciation: ah-man-dah.

Diminutives: Manda, Mandi, Mandie, Mandy.

Alternates:
French: Amandine, Amata.
Hawaiian: Amanka.
Spanish: Amad.

Famous Bearers:
Educators, Scholars, and Social Workers:
Amanda Smith (1837-1915)
American evangelist and missionary.

Fictional Characters:
Amanda (1751)
From Tobias Smollett’s novel Peregrine Pickle.
Amanda Fitzalan (1797)
From Regina Maria Roche’s novel The Children of the Abbey.
Amanda Prynne (1930)
From Noel Coward’s play Private Lives.

Popularity:
Percentage from the 1990 U.S. Census:
0.404 % named Amanda
0.029 % named Mandy
0.006 % named Mandi
0.002 % named Manda
0.001 % named Mandie

Popularity of Amanda:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1800: 100th most popular.
1850: 29th most popular.
1875: 62nd most popular.
1880: 89th most popular.
1881: 87th most popular.
1882: 91st most popular.
1883: 94th most popular.
1884: 92nd most popular.
1885: 90th most popular.
1886: 91st most popular.
1887: 96th most popular.
1888: 97th most popular.
1889: 97th most popular.
1890: 104th most popular.
1891: 105th most popular.
1892: 102nd most popular.
1893: 113th most popular.
1894: 112th most popular.
1895: 115th most popular.
1896: 129th most popular.
1897: 136th most popular.
1898: 137th most popular.
1899: 144th most popular.
1900: 154th most popular.
1901: 155th most popular.
1902: 164th most popular.
1903: 184th most popular.
1904: 169th most popular.
1905: 169th most popular.
1906: 190th most popular.
1907: 190th most popular.
1908: 208th most popular.
1909: 211th most popular.
1910: 229th most popular.
1911: 233rd most popular.
1912: 254th most popular.
1913: 251st most popular.
1914: 270th most popular.
1915: 287th most popular.
1916: 293rd most popular.
1917: 292nd most popular.
1918: 322nd most popular.
1919: 326th most popular.
1920: 336th most popular.
1921: 331st most popular.
1922: 352nd most popular.
1923: 348th most popular.
1924: 371st most popular.
1925: 390th most popular.
1926: 389th most popular.
1927: 455th most popular.
1928: 429th most popular.
1929: 454th most popular.
1930: 476th most popular.
1931: 445th most popular.
1932: 452nd most popular.
1933: 464th most popular.
1934: 468th most popular.
1935: 444th most popular.
1936: 462nd most popular.
1937: 498th most popular.
1938: 478th most popular.
1939: 491st most popular.
1940: 453rd most popular.
1941: 468th most popular.
1942: 420th most popular.
1943: 439th most popular.
1944: 467th most popular.
1945: 426th most popular.
1946: 476th most popular.
1947: 468th most popular.
1948: 455th most popular.
1949: 436th most popular.
1950: 410th most popular.
1951: 413th most popular.
1952: 411th most popular.
1953: 419th most popular.
1954: 417th most popular.
1955: 416th most popular.
1956: 346th most popular.
1957: 353rd most popular.
1958: 334th most popular.
1959: 316th most popular.
1960: 296th most popular.
1961: 300th most popular.
1962: 282nd most popular.
1963: 284th most popular.
1964: 245th most popular.
1965: 201st most popular.
1966: 148th most popular.
1967: 132nd most popular.
1968: 132nd most popular.
1969: 122nd most popular.
1970: 108th most popular.
1971: 84th most popular.
1972: 76th most popular.
1973: 51st most popular.
1974: 35th most popular.
1975: 14th most popular.
1976: 10th most popular.
1977: 9th most popular.
1978: 6th most popular.
1979: 3rd most popular.
1980: 2nd most popular. - Peak!
1981: 3rd most popular.
1982: 3rd most popular.
1983: 3rd most popular.
1984: 4th most popular.
1985: 4th most popular.
1986: 3rd most popular.
1987: 3rd most popular.
1988: 3rd most popular.
1989: 4th most popular.
1990: 4th most popular.
1991: 3rd most popular.
1992: 3rd most popular.
1993: 8th most popular.
1994: 7th most popular.
1995: 8th most popular.
1996: 13th most popular.
1997: 16th most popular.
1997: 18th most popular.
1998: 18th most popular.
1999: 22nd most popular.
2000: 32nd most popular.
2001: 39th most popular.
2002: 45th most popular.
2003: 53rd most popular.
2004: 67th most popular.

Popularity of Amandine:
Popularity (for newborns):
In France...
1900-1970: N/A
1975: 167th most popular.
1980: 46th most popular.
1990: 15th most popular.
2000: 38th most popular.

Selected Sources:
The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, Withycombe, 1977, 3rd ed.
A Dictionary of First Names, Hanks and Hodges, 1990
The Penguin Dictionary of First Names, Pickering, 1999

The Social Security Administration Actuarial Note 139 (www.ssa.gov) - For popularity stats 1880-Present
The 1880 U.S. Census- For popularity stats 1850-1880, and other information (it is