| Amelia | Gertrude | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Industrious, striving | Spear of strength |
| Origin | Germanic | germanic |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | uh-MEEL-yuh | GUR-trood |
| Syllables | 4 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 0 |
| Peak year | 2021 (13,041) | 1917 (6,300) |
| In 2025 | 12,699 | 0 |
| Trend | Near its peak | Vintage |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Amelia | Gertrude |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 76,108 | 171 |
| 2010s | 93,850 | 236 |
| 2000s | 33,292 | 135 |
| 1990s | 13,559 | 102 |
| 1980s | 9,740 | 188 |
| 1970s | 5,321 | 380 |
| 1960s | 4,824 | 1,250 |
| 1950s | 5,189 | 3,936 |
| 1940s | 5,324 | 7,936 |
| 1930s | 5,958 | 16,137 |
| 1920s | 8,787 | 42,459 |
| 1910s | 8,832 | 49,565 |
| 1900s | 3,664 | 23,607 |
| 1890s | 3,725 | 19,898 |
| 1880s | 2,957 | 11,100 |
Amelia comes from the Germanic amal, meaning “work” in the sense of industriousness and striving. It is sometimes blended with the Latin-rooted Emilia.
From Germanic 'ger' (spear) and 'thrud' (strength), so 'strong spear'. The 'spear' element is a weapon of war rather than 'warrior' outright, but the martial sense is well established.
Amelia is more popular than Gertrude today: about 12,699 US babies were given the name Amelia in 2025, compared with 0 named Gertrude.
Amelia means Industrious, striving (Germanic origin), while Gertrude means Spear of strength (germanic origin).
In US records, Amelia first appears in 1880 and Gertrude in 0, so Gertrude has the longer recorded history.