Fun Facts About the Name Amity
- More than 2 thousand babies named Amity: U.S. records list 2,162 babies given the name Amity from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Amity Mean?
Amity is an English given name taken directly from the English common noun amity, meaning "friendship" or "friendly harmony." The noun entered Middle English from Old French amitié, which descends from Latin amicitia, "friendship." That Latin word comes from amicus, "friend," which in turn derives from the verb amare, "to love." The literal root sense is therefore tied to love and friendship, and the customary meaning of the name is simply friendship. The -ty ending reflects the Latin suffix -tia as it passed through French.
Amity Name History & Origins
Amity began as a vocabulary word, not a personal name. In the 16th and 17th centuries, English and New England Protestant families often gave children "virtue names" drawn from moral qualities, a group that includes Charity, Prudence, Patience, and Felicity. Amity was used in this tradition, so its history as a given name overlaps with the wider practice of naming children after desirable qualities rather than after saints or relatives.
The word itself has been part of English since the Middle English period, borrowed from Old French. Its later use as a place name is separate from its use as a personal name; the town of Amity in Maine and Amityville in New York both draw on the ordinary word for friendship.
Modern readers are most likely to meet Amity in fiction. Amity Island is the setting of Peter Benchley's novel Jaws and the films based on it, and Amity is one of the factions in Veronica Roth's Divergent series, representing peacefulness. These are recent literary and film uses; they are not the origin of the name, which existed earlier as an English word and as a given name in the virtue-name tradition.
How Popular is the Name Amity?
Amity has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 1979. Its best rank was #1,125 in 1979.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #3,982 | 36 | 0.0022% |
| 2024 | #3,045 | 53 | 0.0033% |
| 2023 | #2,616 | 67 | 0.0042% |
| 2022 | #2,794 | 61 | 0.0037% |
| 2021 | #3,887 | 38 | 0.0023% |
| 2020 | #4,270 | 32 | 0.0020% |
| 2019 | #4,917 | 27 | 0.0016% |
| 2018 | #3,925 | 37 | 0.0022% |
| 2017 | #4,073 | 36 | 0.0021% |
| 2016 | #3,660 | 42 | 0.0024% |
| 2015 | #3,844 | 39 | 0.0022% |
| 2014 | #5,034 | 27 | 0.0015% |
| 2013 | #4,758 | 29 | 0.0017% |
| 2012 | #5,407 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 2011 | #4,925 | 28 | 0.0016% |
| 2010 | #5,115 | 27 | 0.0015% |
| 2009 | #5,102 | 28 | 0.0015% |
| 2008 | #4,651 | 32 | 0.0017% |
| 2007 | #7,111 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 2006 | #9,945 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2005 | #4,965 | 26 | 0.0014% |
| 2004 | #4,713 | 28 | 0.0015% |
| 2003 | #6,075 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 2002 | #3,658 | 36 | 0.0020% |
| 2001 | #3,709 | 35 | 0.0019% |
| 2000 | #4,408 | 27 | 0.0015% |
| 1999 | #4,881 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 1998 | #4,033 | 28 | 0.0016% |
| 1997 | #3,904 | 28 | 0.0016% |
| 1996 | #4,188 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 1995 | #4,853 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 1994 | #5,027 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 1993 | #3,885 | 27 | 0.0015% |
| 1992 | #3,345 | 33 | 0.0018% |
| 1991 | #4,659 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 1990 | #4,006 | 25 | 0.0013% |
| 1989 | #4,124 | 23 | 0.0012% |
| 1988 | #3,696 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 1987 | #3,104 | 30 | 0.0017% |
| 1986 | #3,896 | 21 | 0.0012% |
| 1985 | #4,132 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 1984 | #2,424 | 39 | 0.0023% |
| 1983 | #2,983 | 28 | 0.0017% |
| 1982 | #2,456 | 39 | 0.0023% |
| 1981 | #1,663 | 69 | 0.0041% |
| 1980 | #1,530 | 77 | 0.0046% |
| 1979 | #1,125 | 119 | 0.0074% |
| 1978 | #1,348 | 88 | 0.0057% |
| 1977 | #1,346 | 84 | 0.0055% |
| 1976 | #1,208 | 94 | 0.0064% |
| 1975 | #1,405 | 75 | 0.0051% |
| 1974 | #1,578 | 60 | 0.0041% |
| 1973 | #1,915 | 43 | 0.0029% |
| 1972 | #2,279 | 33 | 0.0022% |
| 1971 | #2,738 | 26 | 0.0016% |
| 1970 | #3,717 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 1969 | #4,433 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1968 | #7,041 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1965 | #6,568 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1964 | #6,019 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1963 | #6,615 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1961 | #6,597 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1960 | #6,406 | 5 | 0.0002% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Amity Shapes Your Personality and Life?
Powerful and complete. You are good intellectually and require several outlets for your energies. You are not a builder but a planner, and you want others to carry out your plans. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You are seeking freedom, opportunities to enjoy life: to make love, to go places and to do things. You are very adventurous and willing to take risk to achieve your objectives. New ways and new experiences can't satisfy your restless nature. One adventure leads you to another. You are honest and fair, because you know that this is the only way to receive justice and honesty from other people. But your personal growth is vital for you, and it is difficult to be tied down by rules and obligations. Your restless spirit might best controlled by choosing the field of work that meet your demand for action and adventure.
✦ Amity's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Amity's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.