Cursive Amelia Metal Sign

Where the word amelia comes from

Amelia is Germanic, from amal, meaning work, the element behind the Gothic royal house of the Amali. It spent centuries tangled with Emilia, a separate Latin name, and English speakers have used the two interchangeably since the Middle Ages.

Amelia Earhart gave it a second life in the twentieth century. American parents have kept it near the top of the list for a decade.