Do you know any baby Amandas? Well, they may be the last of their kind. This once wildly popular name is on the verge of extinction in Australia.
In fact, there’s a possibility that it may already be extinct. A list of all babies registered in South Australia in 2017 turned up not one single Amanda. As we previously reported, girls were given the names Wallaby, Kindle and Amnesty, but not Amanda, or even Mandy. There was just one Amanda born in SA in 2016, and just one in 2015.
What the hell happened? Not that long ago, Amanda was one of Australia’s favourite names. In 1980, it was the second most popular name for girls born in New South Wales, with 1716 sets of parents dubbing their bundle of joy Amanda.
It’s the name of Amanda Keller, and everyone loves Amanda Keller. Everyone. Amandas just seem to be good people. Amanda Seyfried in Mamma Mia!. Mandy and Toad in House Rules. The name itself means “deserving of love”. So why don’t we love it anymore?
Amanda isn’t the only once-popular name that Australian parents have gone cold on. According to SA statistics, there was not one single Tamara born last year, or Melanie, or Simone. No Brittany (understandable: Britney Spears did kill the mystique of the name when she wandered around barefoot eating Cheetos). No Kirsty, Kristy or Kristen. Not a Karen or a Patricia.
Top Comments
This is tragic news for those descended from the Hugginkiss ancestry.
My name is Amanda and I love it.
I’m 50 but most Amandas I know are around 40. I hope it doesn’t become extinct!