Amanda

Last updated
Amanda
Pronunciation /əˈmændə/ ə-MAN-də
GenderFemale
Origin
Language(s) Latin
Meaning"she who must (or is fit to) be loved"; "beautiful"; "deserving to be loved"; "beloved".
Other names
See also

Amanda is a Latin feminine gerundive (i.e. verbal adjective) name meaning, literally, "she who must (or is fit to) be loved". Other translations, with similar meaning, could be "deserving to be loved," "worthy of love," or "loved very much by everyone." [1] [2] Its diminutive form includes Mandy, Manda and Amy. It is common in countries where Germanic and Romance languages are spoken.

Contents

"Amanda" comes from ama- (the stem of the Latin verb amare, "to love") plus the feminine nominative singular gerundive ending (-nda). Other names, especially female names, were derived from this verb form, such as "Miranda".

The name "Amanda" occasionally appears in Late Antiquity, such as the Amanda who was the "wife of the ex-advocate and ex-provincial governor Aper (q.v.); she cared for his estates and raised their children after he adopted the monastic life: 'curat illa saeculi curas, ne tu cures'" (Paul. Nol. Epist. 44.4). [3]

In England the name "Amanda" first appears in 1212 on a birth record from Warwickshire, England, and five centuries later the name was popularized by poets and playwrights. [4] In the United States, "Amanda" slowly became more prominent from the 1930s to the 1960s, ranking among the top 200 baby names. [4]

From 1976 to 1995, "Amanda" ranked in the ten most popular female baby names in the United States. The name was most popular from 1978 to 1992, when it ranked in the top four.[ citation needed ] At its prime, in 1980, it was the second most popular. In 2009, "Amanda" ranked number 166. It was ranked among the top ten names given to girls born in Puerto Rico in 2009. The name has also recently been popular in Sweden, where it ranked twentieth for girls born in 2009, down five places from the year 2008. It is also popular in Swedish-speaking families in Finland, where it ranked among the top ten names for girls born to this demographic group.[ citation needed ]

People

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

V

W

Fictional characters

Related Research Articles

Alexandra is a female given name of Greek origin. It is the first attested form of its variants, including Alexander. Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb ἀλέξειν and ἀνήρ. Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "protector of man". The name Alexandra was one of the epithets given to the Greek goddess Hera and as such is usually taken to mean "one who comes to save warriors". The earliest attested form of the name is the Mycenaean Greek 𐀀𐀩𐀏𐀭𐀅𐀨, written in the Linear B syllabic script. Alexandra and its masculine equivalent, Alexander, are both common names in Greece as well as countries where Germanic, Romance, and Slavic languages are spoken.

Nadia is a female name. Variations include Nadja, Nadya, Nadine, Nadiya, and Nadiia. Most variations of the name are derived from Arabic, Slavic languages, or both.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne</span> Female given name

Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam (given name)</span> Name list

Adam is a common masculine given name in the English language, of Hebrew origin.

Brianna, Breanna, Briana, and Bryanna are feminine given names. Brianna is a feminine English language form of the masculine Irish language name Brian as "Briana" is the original spelling. The name is a relatively modern one and was occasionally used in England from about the 16th century and on; Briana is the name of a character in Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene. In recent years, the name has become increasingly popular, especially in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria (name)</span> Name list

Victoria is a feminine given name. It is also used as a family name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samantha</span> Name list

Samantha is a feminine given name.

Lauren is mostly a feminine given name. The name's meaning may be "laurel tree", "sweet of honor", or "wisdom". It is derived from the French name Laurence, a feminine version of Laurent, which is in turn derived from the Roman surname Laurentius.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah (given name)</span> Name list

Sarah is a common feminine given name of Hebrew origin. It derives its popularity from the biblical matriarch Sarah, the wife of Abraham and a major figure in the Abrahamic religions. It is a consistently popular given name across Europe, North America, and the Middle East — being commonly used as a female first name by Jews, Muslims, and Christians alike, and remaining popular also among non-religious members of cultures influenced by these religions.

Megan is a Welsh feminine given name, originally a diminutive form of Margaret. Margaret is from the Greek μαργαρίτης (margarítēs), Latin margarīta, "pearl". Megan is one of the most popular Welsh-language names for women in Wales and England, and is commonly truncated to Meg.

Alana, Alanna, Alannah or Ilana is a female given name. It can be derived either from the Old High German word for "precious" or from the Irish language term "a leanbh" for "my child".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hannah (name)</span> Name list

Hannah, also spelled Hanna, Hana, Hanah, or Chana, is a feminine given name of Hebrew origin. It is derived from the root ḥ-n-n, meaning "favour" or "grace". A Dictionary of First Names attributes the name to a word meaning 'He (God) has favoured me with a child'. Anne, Ana, Ann, and other variants of the name derive from the Hellenized Hebrew: Anna (Ἅννα)

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessica (given name)</span> Name list

Jessica is a female given name of Hebrew origin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate (given name)</span> Name list

Kate is a feminine given name, and a short form of the names Katherine, Caitlin and others.

Natalie or Nathaly is a feminine given name derived from the Latin phrase natale domini, meaning "birth of the Lord". Further alternative spellings of the name include Nathalie, Natalee, and Natalia/Natalija.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachel (given name)</span> Name list

Rachel, meaning "ewe", is a feminine given name of Hebrew origin, popularized by the biblical figure Rachel, the wife of Israelite patriarch Jacob.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Molly (name)</span> Name list

Molly is a diminutive of the feminine name Mary that, like other English diminutives in use since the Middle Ages, substituted l for r. Molly evolved from the English diminutive Mally. English surnames such as Moll, Mollett, and Mollison are derived from Molly. Molly has also been used as a diminutive of Margaret and Martha since the 1700s and as an independent name since at least 1720. The name was more popular in the United States than elsewhere in the Anglosphere in the 1800s due to usage by Irish-American families and by Jewish American families who used Molly as an English version of Hebrew names such as Miriam and Malka. Its popularity with Americans was also influenced by stories about Molly Pitcher, a heroine of the American Revolutionary War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anna (name)</span> Female given name

Anna is a feminine given name, the Latin form of the Greek: Ἄννα and the Hebrew name Hannah, meaning "favour" or "grace".

The name Brooke is most commonly a female given name and less commonly a male given name, also used as a surname. Other forms include Brook. The name "Brooke" is of English origin.

The given name or nickname AJ may refer to:

References

  1. Dictionary of First Names. London: Tiger Books Intl. 1994. p.  222. ISBN   1-85501-375-4. OCLC   31399904.
  2. Nuessel, Frank (1992). The Study of Names: A Guide to the Principles and Topics. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. p.  10. ISBN   9780313283567. OCLC   25509231.
  3. Mathisen, Ralph (1982). "PLRE II: Suggested Addenda and Corrigenda". Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte. 31 (3 (3rd Qtr.)): 364–86. JSTOR   4435817. Accessed 19 April 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Origin and meaning of Amanda". Think Baby Names.

Further reading