Ambrosia
The feminine given name of Greek origin meaning "immortal" or "food of the gods".
Name Census estimates that about 1,575 living Americans carry the first name Ambrosia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ambrosia today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ambrosia births was 1981 (65 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ambrosia. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Ambrosia with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.6K
~ 1 in 217,622 Americans
Peak year
1981
65 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,131
Tracked since 1900
Census
Ambrosia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,574 people with the first name Ambrosia, which placed it at #9,010 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#9,010
National first-name rank
People counted
1.6K
1,574 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
35.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ambrosia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ambrosia is White at 35.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (31.8%) and Black (19.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Ambrosia described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Ambrosia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White35.3% · 555
- Hispanic or Latino31.8% · 500
- Black or African American19.8% · 311
- Two or more races8.1% · 127
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.2% · 50
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 31
Popularity
Ambrosia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ambrosia from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 514 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ambrosia by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Ambrosia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ambrosias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. California, Texas, Colorado recorded the most babies named Ambrosia, while New Mexico, Michigan, Washington recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 34 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ambrosia
The name Ambrosia has its roots in ancient Greek mythology and language. It is derived from the Greek word "ambrotos," which means "immortal" or "divine." Ambrosia was believed to be the food or drink of the Greek gods, conferring immortality upon those who consumed it.
In Greek mythology, ambrosia is often depicted as a fragrant herb or a concoction that embodies the essence of divine life. It was associated with the nectar of the gods, which was said to have a sweet, honey-like flavor. The name Ambrosia evokes a sense of divine luxury, immortality, and heavenly bliss.
One of the earliest references to the name Ambrosia can be found in Homer's epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey, dating back to the 8th century BCE. In these works, ambrosia is described as the nourishment of the gods, and its aroma is likened to that of a sweet, fragrant oil.
Throughout history, the name Ambrosia has been bestowed upon a few notable figures. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Ambrosia Fattorusso (1495-1555), an Italian poet and scholar from Naples. Another notable bearer of the name was Ambrosia Tönnis (1773-1835), a German painter and engraver known for her religious works.
In the 19th century, Ambrosia Marache (1853-1898) was a French painter and illustrator who gained recognition for her portraits and genre scenes. Ambrosia Heitz (1880-1939) was a German actress and singer who performed in operettas and musical comedies during the early 20th century.
More recently, Ambrosia Parke (1938-2021) was an American actress and model known for her roles in films such as "Chinatown" and "Carrie." She was also a prominent advocate for animal rights and environmental causes.
While the name Ambrosia may not be as common today as it once was, its rich historical and mythological associations continue to captivate and inspire. The name evokes a sense of timeless elegance, divine beauty, and the eternal pursuit of immortality through the arts and cultural legacy.
People
Ambrosia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ambrosia as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ambrosia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ambrosia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,575 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ambrosia going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 217,622 US residents.
Is Ambrosia a common name?
We classify Ambrosia as "Rare". It ranks above 92.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,692 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ambrosia most popular?
The single biggest year for Ambrosia was 1981, when 65 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ambrosia is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ambrosia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,574 people with the name Ambrosia, or 0.52 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,010 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Ambrosia in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Ambrosia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ambrosia leans strongly female. 1,547 people counted with this name were female (98.4%), compared with 25 male bearers (1.6%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Ambrosia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ambrosia is White at 35.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (31.8%) and Black (19.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Ambrosia most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ambrosia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 35.3% (555 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Ambrosia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ambrosia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ambrosia in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Ambrosia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ambrosia in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Ambrosia can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Ambrosia?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.