Amber
Amber was given to 576 girls in 2025, #520 among girls’ names; 375,668 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 363,000 Americans named Amber and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (97% of everyone recorded); the median is 38 years old and half are between 31 and 43.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Amber by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Amber mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Amber is “a female given name from English, popular in the 1980s and the 1990s.” Its etymology gives the sense “ambergris” (عَنْبَر).
Also “a male given name from Hindi.”
From amber, from Middle English ambre, from Old French ambre, from Latin ambar, from Arabic عَنْبَر (ʕanbar, “ambergris”).
/ˈæm.bɚ/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Amber?
#520 among girls’ names, 2025
Amber fell from #334 in 2015 to #520 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.55 to 0.36 per 1,000.
17,008 babies in 1986, the peak
Amber peaked in 1986, when 17,008 babies were given it (16,954 girls, #13 among girls’ names). The 576 births of 2025 are 3% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 576 | #520 | 0.36 |
| 2024 | 562 | #540 | 0.35 |
| 2023 | 519 | #575 | 0.32 |
| 2022 | 570 | #541 | 0.35 |
| 2021 | 579 | #534 | 0.35 |
| 2020 | 596 | #510 | 0.37 |
| 2019 | 653 | #480 | 0.39 |
| 2018 | 666 | #469 | 0.39 |
| 2017 | 782 | #403 | 0.45 |
| 2016 | 872 | #375 | 0.49 |
Every recorded year (142)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 978 | #334 | 0.55 |
| 2014 | 1,064 | #305 | 0.60 |
| 2013 | 1,114 | #285 | 0.63 |
| 2012 | 1,237 | #261 | 0.70 |
| 2011 | 1,238 | #258 | 0.70 |
| 2010 | 1,419 | #222 | 0.80 |
| 2009 | 1,775 | #185 | 1.0 |
| 2008 | 2,063 | #165 | 1.1 |
| 2007 | 2,405 | #145 | 1.3 |
| 2006 | 2,588 | #136 | 1.4 |
| 2005 | 3,147 | #101 | 1.7 |
| 2004 | 3,639 | #87 | 2.0 |
| 2003 | 4,123 | #74 | 2.3 |
| 2002 | 4,723 | #65 | 2.6 |
| 2001 | 5,572 | #51 | 3.1 |
| 2000 | 6,182 | #47 | 3.4 |
| 1999 | 6,841 | #41 | 3.9 |
| 1998 | 7,930 | #37 | 4.5 |
| 1997 | 8,914 | #29 | 5.1 |
| 1996 | 9,771 | #27 | 5.6 |
| 1995 | 10,965 | #22 | 6.2 |
| 1994 | 12,343 | #21 | 6.9 |
| 1993 | 14,066 | #17 | 7.8 |
| 1992 | 13,917 | #19 | 7.5 |
| 1991 | 14,992 | #16 | 8.0 |
| 1990 | 15,866 | #15 | 8.4 |
| 1989 | 16,760 | #14 | 9.1 |
| 1988 | 16,676 | #15 | 9.4 |
| 1987 | 16,749 | #15 | 9.6 |
| 1986 | 16,954 | #13 | 9.9 |
| 1985 | 15,506 | #16 | 9.0 |
| 1984 | 15,369 | #18 | 9.1 |
| 1983 | 14,892 | #17 | 8.9 |
| 1982 | 14,678 | #18 | 8.7 |
| 1981 | 13,814 | #20 | 8.3 |
| 1980 | 12,553 | #22 | 7.6 |
| 1979 | 11,079 | #22 | 6.9 |
| 1978 | 8,174 | #30 | 5.3 |
| 1977 | 7,207 | #33 | 4.7 |
| 1976 | 5,646 | #49 | 3.9 |
| 1975 | 4,683 | #59 | 3.2 |
| 1974 | 3,273 | #92 | 2.2 |
| 1973 | 2,180 | #130 | 1.5 |
| 1972 | 1,812 | #161 | 1.2 |
| 1971 | 1,721 | #180 | 1.0 |
| 1970 | 1,288 | #243 | 0.74 |
| 1969 | 1,026 | #277 | 0.61 |
| 1968 | 887 | #293 | 0.54 |
| 1967 | 627 | #358 | 0.38 |
| 1966 | 528 | #400 | 0.31 |
| 1965 | 525 | #404 | 0.30 |
| 1964 | 479 | #445 | 0.25 |
| 1963 | 401 | #484 | 0.21 |
| 1962 | 377 | #498 | 0.19 |
| 1961 | 335 | #535 | 0.17 |
| 1960 | 282 | #589 | 0.14 |
| 1959 | 208 | #694 | 0.10 |
| 1958 | 163 | #782 | 0.08 |
| 1957 | 137 | #868 | 0.07 |
| 1956 | 122 | #907 | 0.06 |
| 1955 | 129 | #852 | 0.07 |
| 1954 | 107 | #932 | 0.06 |
| 1953 | 98 | #953 | 0.05 |
| 1952 | 108 | #886 | 0.06 |
| 1951 | 96 | #945 | 0.05 |
| 1950 | 87 | #971 | 0.05 |
| 1949 | 93 | #917 | 0.05 |
| 1948 | 88 | #923 | 0.05 |
| 1947 | 87 | #950 | 0.05 |
| 1946 | 98 | #833 | 0.06 |
| 1945 | 65 | #954 | 0.05 |
| 1944 | 25 | #1,664 | 0.02 |
| 1943 | 22 | #1,833 | 0.02 |
| 1942 | 19 | #1,981 | 0.01 |
| 1941 | 20 | #1,811 | 0.02 |
| 1940 | 20 | #1,792 | 0.02 |
| 1939 | 19 | #1,799 | 0.02 |
| 1938 | 21 | #1,704 | 0.02 |
| 1937 | 12 | #2,452 | 0.01 |
| 1936 | 22 | #1,594 | 0.02 |
| 1935 | 20 | #1,722 | 0.02 |
| 1934 | 28 | #1,373 | 0.03 |
| 1933 | 11 | #2,544 | 0.01 |
| 1932 | 15 | #2,135 | 0.01 |
| 1931 | 23 | #1,595 | 0.02 |
| 1930 | 21 | #1,748 | 0.02 |
| 1929 | 25 | #1,557 | 0.02 |
| 1928 | 37 | #1,253 | 0.03 |
| 1927 | 26 | #1,621 | 0.02 |
| 1926 | 29 | #1,514 | 0.02 |
| 1925 | 35 | #1,348 | 0.03 |
| 1924 | 28 | #1,612 | 0.02 |
| 1923 | 24 | #1,736 | 0.02 |
| 1922 | 34 | #1,368 | 0.03 |
| 1921 | 38 | #1,258 | 0.03 |
| 1920 | 28 | #1,550 | 0.02 |
| 1919 | 33 | #1,350 | 0.03 |
| 1918 | 29 | #1,451 | 0.03 |
| 1917 | 40 | #1,127 | 0.04 |
| 1916 | 52 | #949 | 0.05 |
| 1915 | 39 | #1,075 | 0.04 |
| 1914 | 38 | #956 | 0.05 |
| 1913 | 35 | #901 | 0.06 |
| 1912 | 19 | #1,218 | 0.03 |
| 1911 | 14 | #1,244 | 0.03 |
| 1910 | 28 | #813 | 0.07 |
| 1909 | 19 | #936 | 0.05 |
| 1908 | 20 | #882 | 0.06 |
| 1907 | 24 | #762 | 0.08 |
| 1906 | 16 | #919 | 0.05 |
| 1905 | 18 | #872 | 0.06 |
| 1904 | 29 | #641 | 0.11 |
| 1903 | 7 | #1,445 | 0.03 |
| 1902 | 9 | #1,221 | 0.03 |
| 1901 | 13 | #921 | 0.05 |
| 1900 | 15 | #971 | 0.05 |
| 1899 | 11 | #985 | 0.05 |
| 1898 | 15 | #888 | 0.06 |
| 1897 | 15 | #829 | 0.06 |
| 1896 | 17 | #790 | 0.07 |
| 1895 | 16 | #789 | 0.07 |
| 1894 | 12 | #909 | 0.05 |
| 1893 | 15 | #768 | 0.07 |
| 1892 | 10 | #961 | 0.05 |
| 1891 | 10 | #894 | 0.05 |
| 1890 | 10 | #873 | 0.05 |
| 1889 | 8 | #953 | 0.04 |
| 1888 | 9 | #898 | 0.05 |
| 1887 | 9 | #793 | 0.06 |
| 1884 | 6 | #931 | 0.05 |
| 1881 | 5 | #835 | 0.05 |
| 1880 | 9 | #583 | 0.10 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Amber a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Amber has been given almost only to girls: 978 boys in 142 years of records.
Girls and boys named Amber: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Amber, and how old are they?
363,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 97% of the 375,668 Americans ever recorded as Amber. The median Amber alive today is 38 years old; half are between 31 and 43.
The 2020 Census counted 322,911 people named Amber (322,278 women and girls, 633 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 362,765 born in the U.S. The Census count is 11% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 135 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 2,850 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 60,000 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 227,000 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 63,100 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 9,470 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Amber born?
The states with the most babies named Amber are California, Texas and Florida, with 38% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 104 | #314 | 0.8× |
| Texas | 65 | #495 | 1.0× |
| Florida | 38 | #482 | 1.0× |
| New York | 35 | #482 | 0.5× |
| New Jersey | 21 | #373 | 0.4× |
| Colorado | 19 | #318 | 1.1× |
| Pennsylvania | 18 | #577 | 0.9× |
| Georgia | 17 | #615 | 1.1× |
| Virginia | 16 | #485 | 1.0× |
| Ohio | 15 | #644 | 1.1× |
Where Amber is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Amber is most over-represented in Oklahoma: since 1910 it was given 1.4 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Amber with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 4 names spelled alike, given to 379,477 babies since 1880, Amber is the most given (99% of them). In 2025 it was given to 576 of their 684 babies (84%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Amber
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Amber and names like it
- Compare Amber and AmbarBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1980sAmber peaked in 1986.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Amber since 1910.
- English namesWiktionary’s origin for Amber: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1986The year the most babies were named Amber.
- The names of the MillennialsMost people named Amber alive today were born 1981-1996.
- Names starting with AMost given first.