Name of the Day: Amity
She’s a virtue name with a horror movie twist.
Thanks to Sharmila for suggesting Amity as Name of the Day.
Grace and Faith are Top 100 picks in the US. Spiritual choices Destiny, Nevaeh and Trinity rank right up there with them. So it is little wonder that some parents are now searching for meaningful monikers that are less often heard.
Amity comes to us from the Latin amicus – friendly. It’s certainly a good trait for a child. Better still, friendship feels nicely universal. Chastity, on the other hand, or Temperance are likely to be a bit of a burden (or worse, a challenge!) during those teenage years.
Amity has more in common with Felicity (#698 in 2008) or even Charity (#793), Verity (unranked) and Mercy (unranked). They’re good girls, but they’re fairly uncontroversial virtues. And if you want meaning without dogma, then Amity is the kind of choice not clearly lifted from any particular set of beliefs.
And while the name is simple to say and seems vaguely familiar, she’s never ranked in the US Top 1000 – another appealing characteristic for many parents.
As a personal name, it is tough to pin down the first-ever Amity. She was almost certainly used by Puritan families. But it isn’t as if all Puritan parents were dreaming up wildly inventive monikers like Flee-Fornication – most stuck with Anne and John. Nonetheless, Amity is regularly included on lists of virtue names, and it is perfectly possible – even likely – that she was first used in the sixteenth century.
What’s certain is that she appears sparingly in the US Census records from the nineteenth century onwards. Amity is also a popular place name pick, found in at least eight US states and Australia.
The map is where she runs into trouble. During the 1970s and 80s, friendly Amity had something of a sinister side. First a rogue shark plagued the good people of Amity Island in 1975′s Jaws. Two years later, The Amityville Horror scared moviegoers everywhere with the supposedly true story of a house haunted by vengeful spirits in the very real Amityville, New York.
Big screen badness aside, Amity could fit right in while still standing out. After all:
- Her three-syllable, ends-in-y construction is a perennial favorite for girls, from classics (like evergreen Emily and old Hollywood Natalie) to gender-bending surname picks (think Mackenzie and Avery) and novel word name choices (here’s Destiny again, as well as Trinity);
- Amity could be a fresher version of 70s favorite Amy;
- Amy also offers a possible nickname choice, just in case Amity feels overpowering;
- With Amelia racing up the popularity charts, Amity could offer an alternative;
- And, of course, she’s a virtue name – Grace’s little sister, after Mom and Dad wearied of hearing their firstborn called Gracie T. in nursery school.
If you can overlook the horror film connections – and they haven’t hurt Carrie or Regan – Amity emerges as an appealing choice. She’s current and rare, straightforward and surprsing all at once.
Filed under: Names for Girls, Names of the Day, Rarities, Virtues | 11 Comments
Tags: Amelia, Amity, Amy
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Recent Comments
I’d probably just stick with Amy. Yeah, that’s playing it safe, I know.
I like Amity OK, but I agree that the horror film stuff might be a bit much… Amica has the same latin root without the horror association; I would be inclined to lean toward Amica over Amity. It’s a safer alternative, but not quite as commonplace as Amy.
Amity is my favorite virtue name. (Verity comes in a close second). I like their meanings, and I find Amity most cheerful. The other half digs Horror (as you well know) so Amity s right up his alley for the flick(s), while she appeals to me because friendly is about as happy a meaning as one can find!
I never did buy that “true” movie and Jaws made me laugh at 8. Growing up in Central NJ, land of sharks in the rivers, I know they’re nothing to laugh at, but those were just so fake looking (even now they ring kind of off a bit). The only stopping point for me? the possible nickname, Amy. I lived through the Carter administration, Amy Carter is about 3 months younger than I am. Blah. The name’s sweet, but not substantial enough for me. Amy floats out of my mouth and off down the street. But Amity is perfectly fine with me. So she shows up occasionally in the middle, so she won’t ever get shortened! Lovely Amity! (reminds me of Dimity, the fabric, too)
I really prefer Amy. But Amity is my favourite of the virtue names. It’s a nice meaning, but I have the same concern with this one as I do with a lot of the virtue names – it’s a lot to live up to, no?
I don’t mind Amity – she’s sweet and feminine yet still looks clean and streamlined to me. I do worry that she may be a little *too* sweet though. The movie connotation isn’t really there for me. I’ve somehow never seen Jaws, and the Amityville Horror connection doesn’t stick, so that doesn’t deter me
Though, I really dislike Amy – I find her a little bland, as growing up in the 80s, Amy was a solid Top 20 pick.
I am definitely not a fan of virtues at all, though she does appeal to me; I’d be charmed to hear her on another’s child!
I adore Amity — that, Verity and Mercy are 1, 2, 3 on my list of virtue names [of which I only like a handful]. Strangely though, while my husband and I like those names for girls [I have a Puritan-era grandmother named Mercy], we actually prefer them for boys.
Way back in my middle school years, when I first became a name enthusiast, Amity was one of my favorite girls’ names. I think it appealed to me because its rhythm was similar to Emily (my own name), but I had never heard it used on a real person.
It’s one of the few name choices from my middle school years I’m not embarrassed to share. You want to hear the worst? Xylie — I “invented” it from Xylia and Xylina, which I first read in my mom’s “What Shall We Name the Baby?” book. Actually, with the Hayley/Kaylee/Kylie craze, I’m surprised I haven’t seen Xylie “invented” by anyone else.
Anyway, back to Amity. Because I wasn’t born until 1981, and because I’ve never had a strong interest in horror movies, I never saw Jaws in full, and I had never even heard of The Amityville Horror until recently (and then only in name post discussing the usability of Amity). So those references don’t bug me a bit. I still like Amity. She’s not on my list anymore, but I’m always delighted to see her on other people’s lists.
I first started considering Amity when thinking up names that honored my grandmother, who is Amita. I find it the most appealing of the virtue names because as you said, it feels the most universal. After all, Grace may not be graceful, but Amity will (hopefully) have friends!
Horror movies have never been my thing, so I didn’t even make the connection between Amity and The Amityville Horror until I asked a question about the name on Yahoo! Answers. Even so, I don’t think it’s anything to worry about.
I’m still on the fence about Amity’s usability for me, but I’d love to see more of her!
I knew a woman named Amity years ago and I’ve loved the name ever since! It doesn’t work at all with my last name, unfortunately. Otherwise, I definitely would have short-listed it. It’s my favorite of the virtue names.
I love Amity and Verity, and am trying super hard to convince Erik for them, but so far no luck! I think they’re incredibly beautiful, though I love almost every virtue names!
I think Amity has a sweet sound. I love the nickname Mitty.