UK name, mostly girls
Amara
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "immortal" or "eternal".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Amara is mostly registered for girls in the UK records. People looking for Amara popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #118, with 414 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2024, with 414 births.
This profile covers 4,423 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, NRS Scotland and NISRA Northern Ireland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
Amara is at its recorded peak in the England and Wales series.
We estimate that about 4,643 living people in the UK are called Amara. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Amara ranked #118 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 414 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2024, when 414 girls were registered as Amara.
- • Amara ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #113 in 2024.
- • About 4,643 living people in the UK are estimated to have Amara as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
- • Across the England and Wales records shown here, 99.3% of Amara registrations are for girls.
Latest rank (E&W)
#118
2024
Births in 2024
414
Latest year
Peak year
2024
414 births
Estimated living
4,643
2026
Gender
Boy and girl registrations for Amara
In England and Wales birth records, Amara has been registered for both boys and girls. Across the years shown here, 0.7% of registrations are for boys and 99.3% are for girls.
These figures use the sex categories in the published baby-name files. They are useful for spotting how the name is used at registration, but they are not a live measure of gender identity or everyone living with the name today.
Amara registered for boys
- Ranked #3,048 in 2022
- 6 boys registered in 2022
- Peak: 2022 (6 births)
Amara registered for girls
- Ranked #118 in 2024
- 414 girls registered in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (414 births)
Meaning
What does Amara mean?
The name Amara has its origins in the Sanskrit language, which is an ancient Indo-Aryan language from the Indian subcontinent. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word "amara," which means "immortal" or "eternal." It is believed to have been in use since ancient times in India, possibly as early as the 5th century BCE.
In Hindu mythology, Amara is one of the names of the god Vishnu, who is considered the preserver and protector of the universe. The name is also associated with the concept of immortality and the eternal cycle of life, death, and rebirth.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Amara can be found in the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata, which dates back to around the 8th century BCE. In the epic, Amara is mentioned as the name of a sage or rishi.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Amara. One of the most famous was Amara Sinha, a renowned Sanskrit scholar and poet who lived in the 7th century CE. He is best known for his work, the Amarakosha, which is a Sanskrit thesaurus and one of the oldest dictionaries in the world.
Another notable figure with the name Amara was Amara Devi, a 16th-century Indian queen and warrior who ruled the Gond kingdom in central India. She is celebrated for her bravery and military prowess in defending her kingdom against invaders.
In the realm of literature, Amara Lingam was a prominent Tamil writer and poet from the 20th century. He was known for his works that explored social and political themes, and he received several literary awards during his lifetime.
Amara Essy was an Egyptian feminist and writer who lived in the early 20th century. She was a pioneering figure in the women's rights movement in Egypt and wrote extensively on issues such as women's education and empowerment.
Amara Lakhous is an Algerian-Italian writer and academic who has published several novels and works of non-fiction. His works often explore themes of cultural identity, migration, and the immigrant experience.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Amara over time
The chart below compares boys and girls registered as Amara in England and Wales, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Amara, the clearest high point is 2024. The latest England and Wales figure is 414 births in 2024, compared with 414 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Amara by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Amara was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #146 | 1,739 | 5 |
| 2010s | #278 | 1,932 | 10 |
| 2000s | #574 | 627 | 10 |
| 1990s | #745 | 125 | 4 |
Geography
Where Amara is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Amara. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Amara ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #113 in 2024.
Across the UK
Amara in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#113 in 2024
17 years of NRS records, 204 total registered
Northern Ireland (NISRA)
#227 in 2024
8 years of NISRA records, 37 total registered
Notable bearers
Famous people named Amara
-
Amara Nallo
association football player
English association football player
2006-
-
Amara Karan
actor; stage actor; film actor
British actress
1984-
Related
Names similar to Amara
- Amelia 94,830
- Ava 54,556
- Amy 52,495
- Alice 46,815
- Abigail 45,658
- Amber 31,922
- Anna 27,802
- Alexandra 19,455
- Amelie 18,051
- Abbie 15,971
- Aimee 15,158
- Annabelle 15,120
FAQ
Amara: questions and answers
How popular is the name Amara in the UK right now?
In 2024, Amara was ranked #118 for girls in England and Wales, with 414 births registered.
When was Amara most popular?
The peak year on record was 2024, with 414 babies registered as Amara in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Amara?
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "immortal" or "eternal".
How many people are called Amara in the UK?
A total of 4,423 babies have been registered as Amara across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 204 more in Scotland and 37 in Northern Ireland.
Where is Amara most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Amara ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #113 in 2024. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.