Baby Name of the Day: Ambrose

The baby name Ambrose belongs with a new generation of vintage revival names.

Thanks to Lou for requesting this cool comeback choice as our Baby Name of the Day.

WHAT DOES THE BABY NAME AMBROSE MEAN?

Ambrose comes from the Late Latin name Ambrosius, derived from a Greek word meaning immortal.

It brings to mind ambrosia, the divine food of the gods – or, in more recent decades, a tropical fruit salad made with marshmallows. The root is the same.

The baby name Ambrose boasts millennia of use as a boy’s name. 

It also appears in other European languages. It’s Ambrosio in Spanish and Portuguese. Italians transform it to Ambrogio, with the nickname Giotto. It’s Ambroise in French, while Slavic forms include Ambrož and Ambroży. 

SAINT AMBROSE

One reason this name has such staying power? Credit goes to the 4th-century theologian Ambrose of Milan.

A lawyer by training, Ambrose became embroiled in religious debate, eventually being named Bishop of Milan. For his extensive writings and defense of the faith, he’s considered a Doctor of the Church in Catholicism.

Legends about Ambrose abound. It’s said that bees swarmed his crib when he was an infant, leaving behind a single drop of honey – proof that he’d grow up to be an eloquent writer and accomplished speaker. Because of this story, he’s the patron saint of bees and beekeepers.

It’s easy to imagine parents inspired by the saint and his writings choosing this name for a son. But the baby name Ambrose has long enjoyed general use outside of Catholic circles, too.

MERLINUS AMBROSIUS

In fact, the baby name Ambrose owes some of its more recent popularity to renewed interest in the story of Merlin.

A wizard at the heart of King Arthur’s stories, Merlin was probably first introduced by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his not-quite-historical Historia Regum Britanniae, History of the Kings of Britain.

Writing in the twelfth century, Geoffrey borrowed two legendary figures – the Welsh Myrddin the Wild and the Romano-British Ambrosius Aurelianus. Both were based on historical figures. But they were merged and transformed into a powerful, legendary figure well-known throughout medieval Europe.

EMRYS/AMBROSE

But it’s the rise of Merlin – and the use of alternate names for the character – that might fuel some of the baby name Ambrose’s recent appeal.

From 2008 to 2012, the BBC broadcast Merlin, detailing the early friendship between the wizard and the future King Arthur.

It aired on Netflix in both the US and the UK, and developed a devoted audience.

In the show, the character is also called Emrys – the Welsh equivalent of Ambrose.

That alone might’ve sparked some interest in the name as parents dig in to the stories of the Round Table.

But it also leads us to a very different fictional wizard from another universe: Archie Comics’ Ambrose Spellman.

In The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, the darker Netflix reboot of the light-hearted supernatural comic-turned-90s-television staple, he’s a warlock. Played by Chance Perdomo, Ambrose is also Sabrina’s cousin and ally – and while he appears young, he’s been around for ages.

There’s a big bump in the baby name Ambrose’s use following Sabrina’s 2018 debut.

Besides the saint and the wizards, the name has been used by other noteworthy figures.

FAMOUS MEN NAMED AMBROSE

England gives us nobleman Ambrose Dudley, the 3rd Earl of Warwick. Along with his father, he plotted to put Lady Jane Grey on the English throne in 1553. She reigned for nine days. For his troubles, Warwick ended up in the Tower of London, condemned to death.

But Warwick won a reprieve and went on to serve under Queen Elizabeth I. He was a notable supporter of Puritan reformers, as well as a military commander.

Fast forward a few more centuries, and there’s turn-of-the-20th-century writer and journalist Ambrose Bierce. 

The author of The Devil’s Dictionary penned such cutting definitions as: Advice, n. The smallest current coin.

He’s widely read all these years later.

There’s also:

• Ambrose Burnside was an American Civil War General with spectacular facial hair and plenty of namesakes. The term “sideburns” comes from his surname.
• Olympic gold medalist Rowdy Gaines was born Ambrose Gaines IV.
• Evelyn Waugh gave the name to a fictional character; so did HP Lovecraft.

The name appears on the map, too. The Port of New York and New Jersey is entered via the Ambrose Channel, named for John Wolfe Ambrose, the nineteenth century engineer who led the project the expand the channel leading to New York Harbor.

HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME AMBROSE?

When Bierce was born in 1842, Ambrose probably seemed like a familiar given name for a baby boy. In 1880, the first year for which data is widely available in the United States, the baby name Ambrose ranked in the US Top 300.

It remained in steady use, falling through the 1920s and 30s, and finally leaving the Top 1000 rankings in the 1950s.

That means, of course, that the baby name Ambrose has hibernated for over a century – plenty of time to feel fresh and undiscovered to a new generation of parents.

Ambrose returned to the US Top 1000 in 2019, likely boosted by the character on the Netflix series The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. But it has remained in the rankings even after the show’s end.

As of 2024, the baby name Ambrose ranked an uncommon, but respectable, #741. 

ADVENTUROUS GENTLEMAN

On sound alone, the baby name Ambrose feels gentlemanly. It’s a name for a little scholar, a pint-sized gentleman.

And yet, there’s something big and bold about Ambrose, too. It’s an enduring name tied to the most legendary of figures, along with many other men of accomplishment.

Nickname options range from Amby to Bro/Brose and even Ozzy.

The original 2008 version of this post called the baby name Ambrose “the kind of name that might have hidden appeal” and “the thinking type with a sense of adventure.”

That’s even more true today.

Would you consider the baby name Ambrose for a son?

First published on May 20, 2008, this post was revised and re-published on June 8, 2022 and again on January 2, 2026.