| Amelia | Alice | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Industrious, striving | Noble |
| Origin | Germanic | Germanic |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | uh-MEEL-yuh | AL-iss |
| Syllables | 4 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1880 |
| Peak year | 2021 (13,041) | 1921 (11,955) |
| In 2025 | 12,699 | 3,547 |
| Trend | Near its peak | Rising |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Amelia | Alice |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 76,108 | 20,743 |
| 2010s | 93,850 | 30,636 |
| 2000s | 33,292 | 8,271 |
| 1990s | 13,559 | 6,466 |
| 1980s | 9,740 | 7,330 |
| 1970s | 5,321 | 11,132 |
| 1960s | 4,824 | 26,954 |
| 1950s | 5,189 | 52,074 |
| 1940s | 5,324 | 72,392 |
| 1930s | 5,958 | 78,968 |
| 1920s | 8,787 | 110,526 |
| 1910s | 8,832 | 85,866 |
| 1900s | 3,664 | 35,232 |
| 1890s | 3,725 | 24,415 |
| 1880s | 2,957 | 17,142 |
Amelia comes from the Germanic amal, meaning “work” in the sense of industriousness and striving. It is sometimes blended with the Latin-rooted Emilia.
Alice comes from the Old French Aalis, a short form of Adelais (Adelaide), from Germanic elements meaning “noble.” Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland fixed it in the imagination.
Amelia is more popular than Alice today: about 12,699 US babies were given the name Amelia in 2025, compared with 3,547 named Alice.
Amelia means Industrious, striving (Germanic origin), while Alice means Noble (Germanic origin).
In US records, Amelia first appears in 1880 and Alice in 1880, so Amelia has the longer recorded history.