girls' name ★ peaked 1986

Amber

Meaning ambergris Gender Girl Rank 2025 #520 Trend ↓ Falling 11%

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

Rank 2025
#520
among girls · ↑20 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
576
named Amber · +2% vs 2024
How common
1 in 2,790
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1986
17,008 babies
All-time total
375,668
#97 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Amber popularity over time

375,668 babies have been named Amber since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
3.757.511.251518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 46 – 46 5 – #583
1890s 131 – 131 13 +185% #768
1900s 170 – 170 17 +30% #641
1910s 327 – 327 33 +92% #813
1920s 304 – 304 30 -7% #1,254
1930s 192 – 192 19 -37% #1,373
1940s 537 – 537 54 +180% #834
1950s 1,255 – 1,255 126 +134% #694
1960s 5,467 5 5,472 547 +336% #277
1970s 47,063 157 47,220 4,722 +763% #22
1980s 153,951 526 154,477 15,448 +227% #13
1990s 115,605 220 115,825 11,583 -25% #15
2000s 36,217 70 36,287 3,629 -69% #47
2010s 10,023 – 10,023 1,002 -72% #222
2020s (to 2025) 3,402 – 3,402 567 -43% #510

Where Amber is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 567 0.35 outside top 500
2027 559 0.35 outside top 500
2028 552 0.34 outside top 500
2029 547 0.34 outside top 500
2030 542 0.34 outside top 500

Where Amber is most popular

Girls named Amber per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.346 per 1,000. Strongest in Utah, California, and New Jersey.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Amber born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Utah 61 0.733 +112%
California 519 0.617 +79%
New Jersey 109 0.604 +75%
Colorado 62 0.555 +61%
New York 214 0.540 +56%
Oregon 32 0.491 +42%
Massachusetts 59 0.488 +41%
Connecticut 28 0.481 +39%
Arizona 62 0.442 +28%
Florida 184 0.430 +24%
Texas 343 0.426 +23%
Indiana 59 0.420 +22%
Virginia 70 0.411 +19%
Washington 59 0.408 +18%
Maryland 42 0.396 +15%
Pennsylvania 90 0.381 +10%
South Carolina 32 0.356 ≈ national
Minnesota 35 0.324 -6%
Maine 5 0.323 -7%
Nevada 15 0.323 -7%
Kentucky 27 0.316 -9%
Wisconsin 32 0.311 -10%
Georgia 70 0.308 -11%
Illinois 70 0.306 -12%
Oklahoma 22 0.299 -14%
Louisiana 26 0.297 -14%
Michigan 54 0.296 -14%
Tennessee 45 0.284 -18%
Ohio 59 0.249 -28%
Alabama 23 0.245 -29%
North Carolina 53 0.233 -33%
Missouri 22 0.183 -47%
Kansas 10 0.173 -50%
Nebraska 5 0.139 -60%
Alaska – – –
Arkansas – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Amber

Amber is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #520 in 2025 with 576 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 375,668 American babies have been named Amber. Its peak came in 1986, when 17,008 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1980s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Amber stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Amber?

The median living Amber is about 37 years old; half are between 30 and 43. An estimated 366 thousand people named Amber are alive in the United States today.

median 37 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Amber year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 576 #520 – –
2024 562 #540 – –
2023 519 #575 – –
2022 570 #541 – –
2021 579 #534 – –
2020 596 #510 – –
2019 653 #480 – –
2018 666 #469 – –
2017 782 #403 – –
2016 872 #375 – –
2015 978 #334 – –
2014 1,064 #305 – –
2013 1,114 #285 – –
2012 1,237 #261 – –
2011 1,238 #258 – –
2010 1,419 #222 – –
2009 1,775 #185 6 #11,066
2008 2,063 #165 – –
2007 2,405 #145 – –
2006 2,588 #136 6 #10,747
2005 3,147 #101 10 #7,124
2004 3,639 #87 21 #4,135
2003 4,123 #74 6 #9,628
2002 4,723 #65 5 #10,750
2001 5,572 #51 6 #9,297
2000 6,182 #47 10 #6,337
1995 10,965 #22 21 #3,196
1990 15,866 #15 43 #1,809
1985 15,506 #16 46 #1,452
1980 12,553 #22 45 #1,410
1975 4,683 #59 19 #2,289
1970 1,288 #243 – –
1965 525 #404 – –
1960 282 #589 – –
1955 129 #853 – –
1950 87 #972 – –
1945 65 #954 – –
1940 20 #1,792 – –
1935 20 #1,722 – –
1930 21 #1,749 – –
1925 35 #1,348 – –
1920 28 #1,550 – –
1915 39 #1,075 – –
1910 28 #813 – –
1905 18 #872 – –
1900 15 #971 – –
1895 16 #789 – –
1890 10 #873 – –
1885 – – – –
1880 9 #583 – –

Famous people named Amber

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Amber Heard Amber Heard American actress (born 1986) Contemporary
  2. 2 Amber Tamblyn Amber Tamblyn American actress and author (born 1983) Contemporary
  3. 3 Amber Rose Amber Rose American model and television personality (born 1983) Contemporary
  4. 4 Amber Valletta Amber Valletta American model and actress (born 1974) Contemporary
  5. 5 Amber Stevens West Amber Stevens West American actress (born 1986) Contemporary
  6. 6 Amber Riley Amber Riley American actress and singer b. 1986 · Contemporary
  7. 7 Amber Benson Amber Benson American actress (born 1977) Contemporary
  8. 8 Amber Lynn Amber Lynn American pornographic actress b. 1964 · Contemporary
  9. 9 Amber Rayne Amber Rayne American pornographic film actress (1984–2016) Contemporary
  10. 10 Amber Rudd Amber Rudd British politician (born 1963) Contemporary
  11. 11 Amber Liu Amber Liu American singer and rapper (born 1992) Contemporary
  12. 12 Amber Smith Amber Smith Actress, model b. 1971 · Contemporary
  13. 13 Amber Frank American actress b. 1998 · Contemporary
  14. 14 Amber Bondin Amber Bondin Maltese singer b. 1991 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Amber, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Amber?

The median living Amber is about 37 years old. Half of all living Ambers are between 30 and 43 years old.

How many people named Amber are alive today?

An estimated 366 thousand people named Amber are alive in the United States, based on 375,668 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Amber mean?

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

How popular is the name Amber in 2025?

Amber ranked #520 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 576 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Amber?

375,668 babies have been named Amber in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Amber most popular?

Amber peaked in 1986, when 17,008 newborns received the name.

Is Amber a boy or girl name?

Amber is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Amber rising or falling?

Amber is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Amber become more popular?

Amber looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 542 girls named Amber in 2030, ranking outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Amber?

Well-known people named Amber include Amber Heard (actor), Amber Tamblyn (actor), Amber Rose (model).

Names like Amber

Names that sound and feel close to Amber: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Amber with similar names → More names starting with A →