| Amanda | Emily | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Worthy of love | Rival; eager |
| Origin | latin | Latin |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | uh-MAN-duh | EM-uh-lee |
| Syllables | 3 | 3 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1880 |
| Peak year | 1987 (41,786) | 1999 (26,542) |
| In 2025 | 601 | 5,451 |
| Trend | Declining | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Amanda | Emily |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 3,904 | 37,622 |
| 2010s | 11,081 | 117,646 |
| 2000s | 46,660 | 223,768 |
| 1990s | 191,132 | 237,262 |
| 1980s | 369,727 | 131,764 |
| 1970s | 123,920 | 46,839 |
| 1960s | 17,176 | 12,332 |
| 1950s | 5,471 | 12,839 |
| 1940s | 2,759 | 13,409 |
| 1930s | 1,965 | 11,916 |
| 1920s | 3,125 | 18,754 |
| 1910s | 3,643 | 17,069 |
| 1900s | 2,923 | 6,423 |
| 1890s | 3,872 | 5,476 |
| 1880s | 3,280 | 3,368 |
A literary coinage from the Latin gerundive amanda, 'lovable, worthy of love, deserving to be loved', from amare 'to love'. Built directly on the root am-.
Emily comes from the Roman family name Aemilius, linked to “rival” or “eager,” via the Latin Aemilia. It is carried by the poet Emily Dickinson and the novelist Emily Brontë.
Emily is more popular than Amanda today: about 5,451 US babies were given the name Emily in 2025, compared with 601 named Amanda.
Amanda means Worthy of love (latin origin), while Emily means Rival; eager (Latin origin).
In US records, Amanda first appears in 1880 and Emily in 1880, so Amanda has the longer recorded history.