Amber
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Meaning
from the gemstone amber (fossilized tree resin), ultimately Arabic 'anbar'
The story
Amber is the English word worn as a name: the gemstone formed from fossil resin, or the orange-yellow colour, from a word that traces ultimately to the Arabic ʿanbar, ambergris. A well-traveled word, then, long before it was anyone's name. The name idles in the American record from the 1890s onward, then catches fire: 5,467 girls in the 1960s, 47,063 in the 1970s, 153,951 in the 1980s, 115,605 in the 1990s. That is nearly a third of a million Ambers in three decades. The 2010s eased to 10,023, with 3,402 so far this decade. Nature names come in waves, and Amber's was a spring tide. What remains is a warm, worldly word that made it from Arabic all the way to English nurseries, and still glows at a gentler wattage.
How popular is Amber around the world?
In the United States, 3,402 babies were named Amber between 2020 and 2025. In Scotland, 48 girls named Amber were registered in 2024, the 90th most common name among girls that year.
Amber is on the official records of the United States, Scotland, New Zealand, South Australia, Ireland, England and Wales, Canada, Chile, Argentina, Mexico City, France, Austria, Poland, Spain and Brazil.
Amber crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record and of a Spanish-speaking one. The full list: English and Spanish
United States
1 in 6,400
In the United States, 3,402 babies were named Amber between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Amber peaked in the 1990s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Scotland
1 in 950
In Scotland, 48 girls named Amber were registered in 2024, the 90th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
New Zealand
1 in 1,500
In New Zealand, 38 girls named Amber were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
South Australia
1 in 1,5002017
In South Australia, 12 girls were registered as Amber in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Ireland
1 in 1,700
In Ireland, 31 girls named Amber were born in 2025, the 148th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
England and Wales
1 in 1,900
In England and Wales, 302 girls named Amber were born in 2025, the 164th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Canada
1 in 2,700
In Canada, 137 girls named Amber were born in 2024, the 211th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Chile
1 in 4,300
In Chile, 41 girls were registered as Amber in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Argentina
1 in 5,000
In Argentina, 133 newborns were given the name Amber in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Mexico City City
1 in 9,000
In Mexico City, there were 13 registrations of Amber in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (1 registration through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
France
1 in 21,000
In France, about 30 girls named Amber were born in 2025, ranked 1,133rd among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Austria
1 in 25,000
In Austria, 3 girls named Amber were born in 2025, ranked 1,026th among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Poland
1 in 49,000
In Poland, 5 girls named Amber were born in 2025, the 461st most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Spain
1 in 140,000
In Spain, 326 residents are named Amber, ranked 3,113th among women, with a mean age of 12.1 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Brazil
1 in 1M
At the 2022 census, 168 people in Brazil were named Amber, ranked 28,767th, with a median age of 4.
Among people named Amber living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 76 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Montevideo City
last on record 2006
Amber is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
New South Wales
outside the top 100
Amber is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
Puerto Rico
last on record 2015
Amber is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 21 babies have carried the name there since 1998.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Amber
Most people given the name Amber in the United States were born between 1980 and 1999. The Amber you meet today is most often in her 30s or 40s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Amber deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Amber truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Amber fits with your family’s names and surname.
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