Given name & surname
Ames
“a beloved friend”
Ames is used as a given name and a surname. One French interpretation is “a beloved friend.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One French interpretation is “a beloved friend.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is French.
How it developed
In English usage, Ames is a diminutive of Amy.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1913. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Ames through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,865
- 1,855 boys · 10 girls
- Most popular year
- 2023
- 93 babies
- 2025
- 92
- #1,754 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +9%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 92 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,754 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 8.8% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (8). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 929 as a first name in 2020; 21,085 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Ames’s family of names
In English usage, Ames is a diminutive of Amy. Ames has a related form in Amos. Ames has a related form in Aimes.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Ames
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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