Name meaning and origin
Amy
Old French, from Latin: beloved
Pronounced AY-mee
Where the name comes from
- Old French, from LatinbelovedOld French Amee / amée, feminine past participle of amer "to love", from Latin amare "to love"Attested origin, and all three sources agree. etymonline: from Old French Amee, literally "beloved". DMNES (2023): "Old French amée 'beloved'. Fem. of Ami". Yonge (1884) glossary: "Amy, f. Eng. Lat. beloved". Recorded in England from 1340xc1450 (DMNES).
Amy across traditions
- Medieval English and French. DMNES records the name in England (Latin, Middle English, Early Modern English) and in France (Middle French) from 1340xc1450 to 1599. Yonge (1884) treats it among "Modern Names from the Latin" (glossary p. 182).
- United States (SSA). 666,706 births in the SSA decade top-200 tables, 1950s–2010s. Peak decade: the 1970s, when it ranked #2 for girls (268,994 births). Top 100 in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Sources: ssa.gov/oact/babynames/decades/names1950s.html through names2010s.html.
Who carried it
- Amy Johnson (1903–1941): English aviator. She set off on her solo flight to Darwin, Australia, on May 5, 1930, and disappeared over the Thames estuary in 1941 (Britannica).
Forms in other languages
Amie, Amye, Aymée
Amy in letter-number systems
Hebrew, Greek and other traditions gave every letter a number, and read meaning into the totals. These are the counts, computed; the readings are inside the Innerverse.
51
Hebrew Standard
6
Hebrew Ordinal
39
English Simple
234
English Sumerian
42
English Reverse
441
Greek Isopsephy
6
Chaldean
3
Pythagorean
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