Meaning:
Its source is amanda, amandus, a Latin name meaning "One that must be loved, lovable."
Languages:
This girl's name is used in English, Italian and Spanish.
Alternative Spellings: Amandah
Variant Forms: Amandine and Demanda
Non-English Forms: Amada and Henoheno
Popularity:
The name Amanda ranked 42nd in popularity for females of all ages in a sample of 2000-2003 Social Security Administration statistics, 40th in popularity for females of all ages in a sample of the 1990 US Census and 7th in popularity for females of all ages in a sample of the 1994 US Census.
This name is highly rated both on the 1990 U.S. Census list and in state data recording the most popular baby names.
Narrative:
The Latin male name Amandus, shared by a number of early Christian saints, may or may not be related to the modern girl's name Amanda.
Amanda first appears on an isolated 1212 birth record from Warwickshire, England. The name came into common use, however, only after its appearance in the works of 17th-century playwrights Colley Cibber and John Vanbrugh.
Some authorities feel the dramatists created Amanda as a feminine version of Amandus. Others believe they were simply reworking Shakespeare's 16th-century theatrical invention Miranda, and were not aware of either the ancient male name or the mysterious 13th-century girl.
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