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Names: Amy & Jennifer
My screen name and e-mail name have almost always been amyc because my name for most of my life since pre-school has been Amy C., to distinguish me from all the other Amys. And growing up, there were always other Amys -- in school, in Brownies, in dance class -- from whom I needed to be distinguished. At first I was bitter, but then I became accustomed to the tag. My last initial just rolls off the tongue for me as if it’s another syllable of my first name. I am AmyC. Amy is derived from the Old French "aimée," meaning "beloved." (Just to clear up a common misconception, Amy is not short for Amelia, which derives from the Teutonic root amal, meaning "work." Neither name is related to Emily, the feminine form of Emil, which is derived from the Roman family name Aemilius [Latin aemulus = "rival."] Now you know). Beloved. OK, sentiment aside, etymologically it’s a bit dull. This baby-name site calls Amy "conventional but not plain, popular but not trendy." Is that a ringing endorsement, or what? I always used to hate my boring, childlike name (few names ending in -y sound suitable for non-toddlers). But I look at the kinds of spelling- and sense-challenged atrocities people foist on their helpless children these days and thank the great benevolent forces of the universe that my mother was a sensible woman not inclined to make up names like Ashlynn or Brayden. The name Amy first appeared in English in the late 13th Century. The English used the name so rarely that it had nearly vanished by the 18th Century. It enjoyed a resurgence during the late-1800s. For American girls in the 1970s, the name Amy paled in popularity only to the inescapable powerhouse moniker that is Jennifer (ruler from 1970 through 1984). In third grade, I made a list on the back of my school yearbook of all the Jennifers I knew. There were 26. I always had at least one constant companion named Jennifer, from the birth in 1971 of the Jennifer who lived across the street through the three Jennifers I roomed with at various times in college. All the Amys I knew had Jennifers, and vice versa. It seems fitting that the popular book on GenX feminism, Manifesta, was written by an Amy/Jennifer team. How could it not be? Jennifer has a little more etymological meat behind it. The standard spelling is the Cornish adaptation of the Welsh name Gwenhwyvar (from gwen meaning "white" and hwyvar meaning "smooth." Jennifer means, basically, "white lady." Doesn’t it just?). The Normans Frenchified the name into Guinevere, because that’s what Normans do. Hard as it may be to believe, the name Jennifer was practically unheard of outside Cornwall until the beginning of the last century. Then, blammo! It was everywhere. Its quest for world domination was complete within a century. It took years for me to learn to like (or at least not hate) my name. One last craw-sitcker, however: Despite the prevalence of the name, there are no cool songs about Amys. I mean, come on! Pure fucking Prairie League?!? (Note: My mother almost named me Bernadette, a travesty that would have at least been mitigated by the kick-ass Four Tops tune.) My only solace: No one will ever serenade me in my dotage with "Jenny from the Block."
 Comments:
Regardless, we're still not fooled by the rocks you got.
But they were supposed to be magic rocks, with extra fooling powers!
-- amyc, 01/27/2003
Last fall, I had a class of 110 junior university students, only 10% of whom (approximately) were men. Of the remaining women, 8 were called "Jen." Some were Jennifers, some were Jennas, and some were just Jens, but still. By the way, only 1 Amy.
-- elavil, 01/29/2003
Hey, Ashlynn isn't made up. It is an ancient Irish name that is experiencing a resurgence in popularity. Two variations in its spelling are among the top 100 most popular baby names in Ireland. Lay off the Irish!!!!!!
-- derry, 01/31/2003
Uh, OK.
-- amyc, 01/31/2003
Just call me JBo, please.
What a difference a decade makes. There were _no_ other Amys around when I was growing up - I didn't run into someone my age named Amy until I was in college. Of course, the good part of this is that I'm generally assumed to be quite a bit younger than I am, since all the Amys are in their twenties and thirties.
-- An Old Amy, 02/07/2003
Hey! I was searching my name on the net and this site popped up. Its kinda crazy that i should see this today because my best friends name is Jennifer, well my old Best friend now because were in the biggest fight ever, lets just say involving my ex boyfriend and her. But anyways its weird how u said every amy had a jennifer.... It made me think if we should be fighting.
i thought the name jennifer means "a white wave"!?
-- jennifer k, 04/06/2003
i thought it meant white wave too. also...i thought it was funny that you said that every amy has a jennifer because my best friend's name is amy. and i feel you when you say that jennifers are everywhere, there must have been at least 3 more in every one of my grade school classes. but we must have gotten the last surge of the name because i dont see it as much anymore. by the way, i was born in 1985 making me 18. oh and i dont know of any songs about jennifer either
-- jennifer m, 05/10/2003
Jennifer Juniper by Donovan (he sang the Mellow Yellow song). What is interesting about the name and its usage is that Jenny does not come from Jennifer, but is commonly used as a shortened form.
-- Jennifer L, 05/13/2003
The amy last inital thing is soo true....I am still Amyo and will be until i get married. There are some cooler amy songs out there including : eligy for amy amy is amazing (i really like this one) amy (ryan adams...pretty good) and last but not least: A-M-Y that spells amy....kinda punkish kinda popish but pretty good all the same and the name amy is making a resergance even amongst the hannahs, emmas and jennas :)
Long live amys everywhere
-- Amy O, 06/11/2003
Hey. Out there. When I went to school there were alot of Jenn's and I was born in 1983. I am friends with an amy actually 2 what a coincidence!!!
I AM FAR FROM BIENG A WHITE LADY.
I AM A COACOA BROWN PRINCESS. I GUESS
MY NAME TOTALLY CONTRADICTS MY PERSONA. I HAD A FRIEND NAMED AMY IN
HIGH SCHOOL. HAVEN'T MET ANY NEW FRIENDS BY THE NAME OF AMY SINCE.
Hi, I was looking up my name on the net, and this site came up (I'm doing an essay on my name, and no I'm not that vain, it's required). I had a friend named Amy, everybody called her crazy Amy. Also I just wanted to add that I'm black, and the other day my professor asked me how I felt about my name literally meaning white, and he asked did my mother name me Jenn b/c of the meaning. He added that it didn't necessarily mean white as in a white person, but white as in fair skinned (I'm a light complexion)? I just found that a little interesting.
my best friend/cousin Jennifer sent me this site...I think that is so interesting!! I can't believe there are so many coincidences with Amy/Jennifers, it's so cool. We should have a club with t-shirts and buttons. Club meetings once a year and find boys with the same names to marry. Just kidding guys. Just kidding.
one of my best friends is called Amy!!!
-- jennifer, 10/16/2003
i know about 4 Amy's and about 12 Jennifers/Jens/Jennys...
-- Jennipher, 10/20/2003
I have to say this site is highly amusing. I do not actually know any Jennifers, not since high school, but I haven't met too many Amys since leaving high school either. I definately can relate to the initial thing, I signed all my x-mas cards, even to my mom, Amy P. until about 5th grade. But then I met another Amy P. and it was all downhill from there...
ah ok even im not a white lady!!!!
I was bored and felt like looking up my name and I ran into this page. Amusing =) How coincidental....I know *counts*
4 Amys and 10 Jennifers (Not including Jenny's, Jen's and Jenna's)
Oh and...yea the last name thing rings true too... What a scary world we have...
-- Jennifer, 10/26/2003
I cannont believe one day I'm going to be 95 years old and some whippersnapper at the "home" named Jordan-Brittany is going to change my diaper. Crapdammit. She'll probably call me "Miss Amy", too. We hate her. Sigh. As an aside, I remember my dad singing a song called Once In Love With Amy to me. I think Frank Sinatra sang it. If not, it was my dad. What a weird Jew. Go figure.
amy just too plain just as plain as my middle name beth plain plain plain goes along with my plain brown hair and eyes.
i'm another jennifer and there are loads more in donegal, ireland where I'm from. the irish for jennifer is Sinead.
-- jennifer from ireland, 11/18/2003
Hey, Um well my name is amy and i've known a few jennifers but have never been like real good friends with any of them...no jennas or jennys either. but i probably will some day
While looking my name up for this essay I must write, this site popped up. Very interesting I must say. I, too, have a good friend named Amy...and Holly. Are Hollys allowed to join the group?
-- Jenny K, 01/24/2004
This lil site is adorable! It is so true about people using the last initial with Amy, i am always called Amy G, it rolls off the tounge i guess! in my senior class there are about 275 kids, and there are 6 Amy's! crazy huh? and my best friend's name is Jenny! Also, the song A-M-Y (that spells Amy), is one of the greatest songs i've ever heard! hah maybe other Amy's will feel the same! non-Amy's just don't understand ))((
i, too, know about the last inital thing. I was always Amy H. due to the Amy R. and Amy L. in elem. school. it's a good thing we all didn't have another name in common, like say laura. because honestly, does the last inital flow as well? nope. i've never heard this A-M-Y song everyone is speaking of, but maybe i'll stumble about it soon. anyways, thanks for the helpful name info!
well my name is amy j and i too know many amy's and had to use the last name inital all through child hood, thanks for the info on the wonderful name...AMY.
oh ya one more thing i have BELOVED tatooed on my neck, thats how much i love my name...plus i was named after my great grandma Amy Hansen.
i hate my name so that is why i'm hav got myself a nickname to separate me from all the other people in my school called Amy. What a boring choice.
-- Amy "tubbihands" p, 03/01/2004
i hate my name so that is why i'm hav got myself a nickname to separate me from all the other people in my school called Amy. What a boring choice.
-- Amy "tubbihands" P, 03/01/2004
As a Jennifer whose only sister is named Amy, I got a question for all of you: WHY are Amy & Jennifer such popular names? My mom said something about Jennifer becoming popular when the movie Love Story came out, but that was December 1970 and I and all my dozens of Jennifer classmates were born was born in 69. Any clue?
I just had a baby and named her Clementine; now the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is out and the lead character's name is Clementine and I'm afraid it will be the new Jennifer!
I know one Amy and no Jennifers. There were never any Amys or Jennifers in my classes. I was born in '87.
-- Jennifer, 05/12/2004
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