10 Common Amish Women's Names (& 10 Unusual Ones)

What are common Amish women's & girls' names? I take you through 10 of the most common female names - plus 10 rare names.
I give some back story for each name, share where they are found, discuss Amish customs when choosing names for a baby, and more. Many Amish names have a Biblical origin - but many do not.
Beginning in 2004, I sold books door-to-door to the Amish. I visited over 5,000 Amish homes in the process. Since then I've been to dozens of Amish communities in 16 states. I write about the Amish at amishamerica.com/
Image credits: Jerry, Jim Halverson, Lovina's Amish Kitchen (www.lovinasamishkitchen.com/), S.I.

[@hollybarnes842]

We stopped at an Amish home for the first time last Saturday. We bought clover honey, tomatoes, okra, sweet potatoes and a watermelon. Only the young children waited on us. The girl was Saloma, out of Shalom = peace. The boy was Eli, maybe 8 yo and he did the entire transaction. Didn't see Mom at all. Dad was of few words and working on farm equipment. The food was amazing. We are planning to visit other communities.

[@mariaduman6973]

Maybe Jaala is a form of the Hebrew name Yael. Also, I was surprised that Rachel was not included in the list of common names.

[@deniseeulert2503]

Speaking about common Amish names I remember, from a long time ago, one of Charles Kuralt's On the Road segments. It was of a mail deliverer whose rural routes covered a lot of Amish addresses. This dude had done the routes for so long he knew who was who inside and out, and never got the mail mixed up. But now he was about to retire, and Kuralt's last statement on the show was "The Amish don't like to think about that."

[@heididepotter8136]

I love these names. Thank you for sharing Jaala might come from Jael(le) a Biblical name

[@weissblau]

I think I can help you out with "Adel" and "Rosmanda". I am from Southern German, from the countryside and, since I am old, I identify with much that is Amish. Adel is a quick way of saying Adele, especially in the Allemanic dialects spoken i Southwestern Germany, Switzerland, and Alsace. Adele is simply a general Germanic shortening of the old German name "Adelheid". We also derive the name "Heidi" from it. Rosmanda is a way you quickly say "Rosamunde" in those regions of the German speaking countries. :"Rosamunde - from the Latin rosa mundi (rose of the world), again an old name. There is even a very popular song about a Rosamunde, or as a dialect speaker would say it Rosmanda. I hope that helps. I enjoy your videos. I love reading the Amish novels by various writers,; I know some of it, I have to take with a grain of salt, but they provide enjoyable recreational reading and I never have to skip pages, I also understand their German quite well, I'd like to visit with them before I die.

[@andrearc3002]

My grandmothers name is Adele and she's Swiss. I named my daughter Heidi after her because I couldn't convince my husband to name our daughter Adelheid or Adele. All three are lovely names.

[@karrenpopovics2780]

What about Adelaide?? My great aunt was 100% Italian

[@weissblau]

@@karrenpopovics2780 That is the French version of Adelheid, but used by the English as well. Your great aunts mother must have just liked this version.

[@kimfleury]

I think of the quintessential Amish women's names as Rachel, Sarah, Mary, Miriam, Ruth, Hannah, Anna, Elizabeth, Rebecca, Leah, and Lydia. It always surprises me to hear extra-biblical women's names among the Amish -- especially modern inventions, like Shaylee or Shaylyn. But variety is somewhat helpful in naming children in communities where there's a huge chunk of Yoders and Millers. Also, if you have a lot of children you might tend to run out of ideas for names. True story, my Dad was a younger twin, the 8th of 16, his older twin being 7th. (One of the babies died as an infant, but the rest survived into adulthood). There was a 2nd set of twins born after my Dad, I think #s 12 & 13. A girl and a boy. By that stage Grandma and Grandpa couldn't agree on names, and the doctor who delivered the set (home birth) told them they had 3 days limit for filing the birth certificates. The time arrived and they still didn't agree, so the doctor told them to listen to the local radio station at such and such a time that night to learn the names he gave them. My Aunt Mary, the oldest, says they waited at the radio that night, excited to find out the names of their newest baby brother and sister. They were pleased with the names: Paul and Pauline. But of course the Amish don't have that luxury to learn the names of their babies by radio 😆

[@onrr1726]

I've heard Hannah quite a bit in Amish community's here in New York and I've heard the name Velda once

[@followerofjesus7277]

All my four kids are amish names. Mary, Paul, Leona, Wayne. I never came from the Amish ,but my Husband did.

[@christinewalsh3043]

Arlowene is a rare name in Bavarian communities. I have seen it among German Jewish and German Romani families.

[@ItsSusieQue96]

My aunt’s name was Leora. Her family likes are most all German and Dutch but Leora is a Hebrew female given name, which means "light unto me" or "I have light". Alternative spellings may be Liora or Liorah. The name can be a diminutive form of Eleanor from what my family tree research has indicated. In regards to Elvesta-I also had an aunt Vesta- Vesta is of Latin origin. The meaning of Vesta is 'pure'. Vesta is the name of a Roman goddess of the home, family, and fireside or hearth. Vesta is also a nickname for Silvestra though I know little about that name.

[@gailacohenmorrison3108]

In Hebrew Na'ama is a variant of Naomi which means pleasant. Liora is a fairly common name meaning my light. Lior is the male variant. Ya'el or Yaalah,(Jaala) a female goat is an extremely popular me for girls.

[@janedoe805]

Linda means pretty in Spanish. My middle name is Emma suggested by my Irish Nana, her favorite book is Emma by Jane Austen.

[@marvthedog1972]

wow.. that's cool about Sarah/Sadie. I ran across this while looking up my ancestors. I had a many great grand ma that was named Sarah, but in records and personal letters (like the husbands will), she's referred to as Sadie. That makes so much more sense now!! THANK YOU.

[@arlettacaruso4209]

Arletta was the name of Cool Hand Luke's mother in the movie. Oddly the name is found in the deep South with no affiliation to the Amish. Also the name of the actress who played Frankenstein's bride was Arletta Duncan. The nickname for Arletta is Lettie which some may have heard but didn't know it was derived from Arletta.

[@emsdiy6857]

This was COOOL! Have you ever been to a Minnesota Amish community?

[@johnquest2268]

Oneita could also be pronounced as Juanita. Oneita is my mother's name and she was born in Allen county Indiana.

[@clementinetufts3454]

I’m just remembering that I have a great great aunt that was named Oneita, pronounced Juanita.

[@JennsJourneyofSelf]

My Grandmother's name was Fannie from West Virginia

[@ferdi5407]

Leora - Hebrew name meaning "light to me" or "my light"

[@tanya41277]

I was in Amish country the other day and went each shop in the community. I met Anna, Ella, Clara, and Elizabeth. Very nice ladies. Was in NY in the Cuba area.

[@lindawolffkashmir2768]

My grandmother’s name was Suvilla. My family was not Amish, but German, although they were raised in Van Wert Co., Ohio, and most likely associated with the Amish throughout that area. It’s not surprising that the names would be passed back and forth between the Amish and the Germans in this area.

[@gus9225]

As a Rural Mail Carrier, I know many Amish here in West Central Illinois. Most come from the Arthur community and surrounding area. Names of the girls and women seem endless. Christine, Mary Emma, Janeen, Aurora, Debbera or Debbra, Emmalisa, Rosina, Lydia, Martha, Miriam, Rhoda, Hannah, Edna, Alta, Leona. There are so many others but those are just off the top of my head. Love your videos. Thanks for posting. :)

[@tammywoodworth3563]

Amish are hard worker and very nice people

[@jeffreycurtis3146]

Love your videos . I lived in PA for two years training racehorses about 30 minutes east of new Holland. I would go to the horse sale every Monday in new Holland and made friends with some Amish guys . Over time I was invited to their farm ,I was forever looking for that horse that was a diamond in the rough to make into a show horse .it truly was a sad day saying goodbye when I moved back to Florida .

[@AmishAmerica]

Thank you Jeffrey! Sounds like you really loved that experience and life. I'm guessing you know there is one Amish settlement in Florida (though without horses unfortunately).

[@Alma_Gertrude]

@@AmishAmerica how do they live without horses?

[@ginger1549]

@@Alma_Gertrude Bikes

[@rev.ruthe.gallot9103]

In the Lancaster Co. community I visit, I have met a few Barbie's, assuming it is short for Barbara. I thought that was surprising. Have met many with all the names you mentioned along with Lydia

[@AmishAmerica]

Yes that kind of surprised me too actually the first time I heard the name there, because, of course hearing "Barbie" I first think of the blonde children's glamour doll, kind of the opposite connotation as for the plain Amish

[@saraspangler890]

I knew a Mennonite lady named Arleta, she was a head nurse where I worked, many years ago.

[@jankitteringham8483]

Fascinating Thankyou. 🇬🇧😊

[@brebeccablum4693]

Leora is a common name in Israel, it means my light in Hebrew

[@helenmorgan4003]

Oneita is pronounced as One-ita for the name Juanita, the shortened name becomes Nita, I worked for an elderly lady of a German heritage here in Australia, her grandaughter was called Nita

[@efolinsky]

There’s also the Oneida people….

[@willbass2869]

Only Arleta I've ever heard of was a character in the movie "Cool Hand Luke" starring Paul Newman. I think the character, Arleta, was Luke's aunt. Loved the movie. Need to see it again....now back to Amish! Lol.

[@ToSobrietyAndBeyond]

There is an Oneida, NY near Syracuse.

[@michellesunshinestar]

I love dream catchers. I have two and then a name catcher I got at a gift store somewhere, it was pretty. They say (I heard somewhere) that dream catchers work better if they were a gift. Also, Sunshinestar would be my native American name, if I chose one. One of my dream catchers I got at the Ohio State Fair, and the other one was a gift they gave out to everybody in choir. Maybe you should do some videos on Native Americans. Also, visit the mounds in southern Ohio, I went for a history class for the Community College, my mom took me.

[@geraldsieber7266]

A name popular in my area is Veronica. It seems like names get passed on from generation to generation like we sometimes do but in the Amish it is not uncommon for a name to be used several times within the same family group. Example: Grandma was Emma. She has a daughter Emma. Daughter Emma has 8 brothers and sisters. Someplace in those 8 families will be more Emma’s and so on into the next generation. You did very well with the common names. I probably know at least 5 women with each one of the names.

[@tetonhiker]

Good name 👍

[@missmajestic2158]

I have a great neice named 'Jayla', it's like the Amish name Jaala. But spelled differently.

[@ThePanda5001]

didn't know the name Emma was also common with the amish. oddly enough my sister is also called Mary......... how ironic!!

[@libertyann439]

"Rosanna Of The Amish" is a story of a little catholic orphan girl who is adopted by an Amish woman named Elizabeth. This book was written by Joseph Yoder, one of Roseanna's sons.

[@mlwilliams7959]

Loved that book!

[@pepper57s]

I have that book and have read it several times through the years.

[@thistlemoon1]

We have a Mennonite community in Lavonia, Georgia. Sounds a lot like Lovina.

[@Ujuani68]

3:31: Probably fron Germany. In Greenland, we had German missionaires for about 200 years ago, and names like Karolus, Flavia and Philippus became names, that were used.

[@kimberlyokeeffe5360]

Interesting. In my family there have been a couple of names for females that are a combination of the mother and father's first name. That could be the source of several of the names you listed.

[@AmishAmerica]

Interesting to know that - could be the case. Now that you mention it, I can see at least a couple which might be combos of a father/mother name.

[@willowsverge3046]

My niece is named lenee (la na - first a soft, second long) its a combination of her parents leo and renee. Names are just too interesting!

[@kassrripples3659]

There is a store recently moved into Old Town Montgomery Texas that sells Amish produce, bottled fruit, preserves, butter, cheese, pickled vegetables. I hope they will soon sell Amish made home wares.

[@westzed23]

With so many children in each family you have to start looking for different names. Then the brother's large family has to do the same so that cousins are not given the same name because last names can be the same. There's a small Amish quilt shop that had amazing handmade quilts and baskets. On the tag to show the quilt maker they listed the husband's name then the woman's name. Like Luke Sarah. The shop owner said it was to know the right person, so the husband's name was listed.

[@oldbat4383]

i just finished a book of 4 amish stories. the one older woman was named cevilla :)

[@janeEyreAddict]

Sevilla was my 2nd great grandma's name!

[@sfry927]

I LOVE Lovina Eicher!!!

[@kellyking1913]

I am descended from Amish from both my father and mother. I have many ancestors named Fanny and it's actually short for Veronica which was very common among all amish in the 1700s. And yes, my last name King is Mifflin Co. Pa. amish.

[@jsemplefelton5348]

Fanny in UK is normally short for Frances. Vera is common for a shortage of Veronica.

[@qqq1q1qqqqqqq]

I have an Aunt Fannie. I have no clue if she is of Amish descent or not. She's just my Aunt Fannie. She was my Uncle Jarry's (yes, with an a) wife. He was my dad's older brother who passed away several years ago. My dad is one of 11 kids. My grandfather had one then married my grandmother and they had ten. Not Amish, but no TV for them either. 😉

[@ifsheisgonetowherethere6259]

The Oneida reservation is in Wisconsin.

[@meredithgreenslade1965]

Adel is possibly a shortened version of Adelheid. German name.

[@amyhoosierdiver5480]

I was born in Elkhart, Indiana. Have lived in Elkhart, Osceola, and Mishawaka. All places in Indiana that are beside each other.

[@AmishAmerica]

Right next to Amish country!

[@bener397]

Your number 8 Rosmanda comes from the French Rosemonde.

[@mq5276]

Our neighbor is named Barbie. Not Barbara, just Barbie. Several of my daughter's friends use a relative's name and add Lynn to it, not as a middle name but as an add on as in Marthalynn, named after her aunt Martha. When I was a teen we had a neighbor named Leora, but they were Mennonite.

[@shammydammy2610]

I've heard Barbie as well. The one I know is a member of a Wisconsin Amish community.

[@doreengreathead6481]

Hello from my South Africa. Here in South Africa alot of us are descended from German, Dutch and French settlers. I myself am half Swiss German. In South Africa you get the female name Arlette/Arlette.

[@denalayman5299]

My name Dena is uncommon and I found a Bent and Dent store that is owned by Amish wife and her husband. Her name is Dena

[@jasonwojnicz]

Jaala might be pronounced Ya-la with the first A being pronounced long. J is a y in German.

[@benw9949]

Jaala would be pronounced Yah-lah in German and in Pennsylvania Dutch (Deutsch), a dialect of German.

[@benw9949]

Jaala might be an obscure Biblical name, but I don't recall it off the top of my head. -- If it's a Biblical masculine name, there are a few Hebrew names which can be used for both men and women, either the same word form or modified a little for male or female words.

[@gailpeczkis5292]

@@benw9949 there was a woman in the Old Testament named Jaal in the book of Judges in the Bible.

[@shammydammy2610]

@@benw9949 I think it might be a variant spelling of Jael.

[@Corgis175]

My name is Arlene, interesting a couple of the ones you cited could be partially related to that name.

[@dougdaniel9196]

I'm an "English People" guy living smack in the middle of an ever expanding conservative schwarentruper colony in Ontario. I'm fairly close to a few families on many levels. Having had several failed long term relationships with women I can really appreciate Amish women. They actually take pleasure and joy in being mothers of many children and grandchildren. Not to mention devoted wives very skilled at housekeeping, gardening, farm chores and preservation of food among a long list of other things. I find it refreshing to see women more concerned about being what the bible speaks practically of women rather then wasting time with social media, fancy clothes, make up and running up credit cards. Too bad as a religion most really aren't Christians because they certainly play the role of a Proverbs 31 woman well. Some very common female names of note around here include Verna, Edna and Esther. I live similar to the way they do, off the hydro grid, have small flocks of fowl and small herds of cattle and pigs of which I butcher and eat. I avoid entertainment, fancy clothes, jewelry and too much idle time. As a batchelor it's a challenge to do that and work essentially full time at a local shop. Hard work keeps me healthy, not necessarily wealthy but also close to God. A common name among men is "Mosie" an off shot of "Moses" I get a kick out of how they often short form that name to "Moe" lol Other neat scriptural first names for boys commonly include Ephraim, Jonah, Noah, Sylvanius, Jacoob, Emmanuel and Reuben. I have one neighbor with a young boy named Dennis, I though that was peculiar. Nice people generally and great neighbors. As a born again believer my heart aches to know they are deeply deceived into a dangerously false religion. A religion which by practical works very closely matches what scripture teaches in many cases, hence outwardly they seem very Christian. However inwardly most really have no idea who Jesus is. They are preached to in High German with Luther's bible, a language most of them don't speak very well and often can't read. They are actually told not to study scripture without the pastor leading them. It's heart breaking really!

[@waynem.7226]

Arie is the name of someone I knew in the Holmes/Wayne Co., Ohio area. I also used to work with a woman known as Sally, which she said was short for Saloma. Clara is a more popular name here though.

[@arlitabeard7693]

I always though that Arlita was epainish there is a school district of Arleta in Portland Oregon

[@arlettacaruso4209]

Arletta here. Great grandmother was Amish.

[@michellesunshinestar]

Sadie Robertson, from Duck Dynasty. Fannie, from the TV show "The Nanny"

[@ohnesorgen4642]

I've seen #6 spelled as "Savilla" a lot in my non Amish Pennsylvanian family, such as my ggg-grandmother's name. Must be all related to Sibylla.

[@happycook6737]

In Australia, New Zealand and UK, the word fanny means the same as the vulgar C--- word referring to a woman's front part below the belt. If my name were Fannie, I would change my name before visiting Australia, UK, New Zealand.

[@fangsupply]

Leora is a beautiful name

[@kathkwilts]

There is also Hannah and Clara May...

[@cherylverhelst8245]

Here in Wisconsin we see most Barbara, Mary, Rachel, Rebecca and Ida. Most popular last names are Borntrager, Miller and Yoder. It can be very confusing.

[@AmishAmerica]

That's when you get into nicknames! 🙂 amishamerica.com/the-amish-name-game/

[@magdalena-ug2sl]

There's 2 Dutch names similar to Arletta; Aletta and Arlette. Both are common names.I think Jaala is also similar to Jelle, a Dutch masculine name or Joelle the feminine version. Elvesta is could also be a combination of Esther, Elisabeth and Eva. Leora is a name I have heard in the Netherlands similar to more common name Leonora witch is the feminine version of Leo.

[@TheMagdalenaBB]

I know a few Philipino ladies that go by Fanny as a short form of various names.

[@sonyapiper7159]

My great grandmother’s name was Levina.

[@janshe3597]

My niece’s name is Levana.

[@alaayuwuh3012]

I recently met an Amish woman named Loverta, or Laverta, not sure of the spelling... I thought she said Loretta, like my Grandmother. Loverta had children named Clarence, Carrie, and Christina.

[@susanfritz9513]

Rachel, Leah, Susan, Lydia, Annie, Martha, Hannah

[@lindawild6568]

Adel is a name that means flower

[@coinkydink3984]

My grandma was named Ozoria... her family were originally German protestants who traveled through France and Switzerland before settling in a cultish settlement in Lancaster County, Penn. Not Amish but similar.

[@AmishAmerica]

Very unusual and interesting-sounding name.

[@qqq1q1qqqqqqq]

That is a very interesting story. Boy, I would love to have been able to hear the stories your ancestors told.

[@coinkydink3984]

@@qqq1q1qqqqqqq I don't know if it's still in print but there was a book about them. The last name was Livingood or leibengott, I think in German. The leaders first name was peter.

[@qqq1q1qqqqqqq]

@@coinkydink3984 Way cool!!! I might try to look that up.

[@christinemarchant3130]

Of course I have to ask about my name LOL is Christine a popular name. Honestly there are very few cultures or places I've been that I haven't met another Christine so I was just wondering if it's popular in the Mennonite and Amish communities.

[@AmishAmerica]

I don't want to disappoint you Christine but it's not a common name with the Amish. Some more progressive Mennonite communities maybe. And there are probably some among the Amish, it's just not one you generally see a lot of. So if you became Amish, you would probably be rare in the community:)

[@christinemarchant3130]

@@AmishAmerica lol if I did become Amish that would be a rarity in itself not just my name LOL 😁

[@AmishAmerica]

True - it happens sometimes that non-Amish join the Amish, but not very common! However I have a couple of friends who have done it, and they both have very interesting stories.

[@bconsilio3764]

Are there Amish that allow photos of them? If so where do they live?

[@urbannanni5864]

I'm not surprised. In my genealogy studies, I have found that I am likely a descendant of some Pennsylvania Amish.

[@ungeniusnba3565]

I live around a lot of amish and actually know one Lavina but we pronounce it la-vee-na

[@gregoryshipley4637]

Lovina, might also be if a more biblical origin. I have seen similar names as feminization of Levi, one of the sons of Jacob.

[@paulpochan9631]

The only time I heard the name "Arleta" was in the movie "Cool Hand Luke".. Arleta was Luke's mother that visited him in road prison..... Was the name popular in the deep south....???

[@NavigatEric]

Many names listed in the comments are common regional names in central Pennsylvania (or were, 50 years ago): Dena (Diane), Lydia, Ruth, Sara (with or without -h), etc. My own list includes Laura, Mia, Jacob, Jonah, Ezekiel (Zeke) and especially Zachariah or Zachery (Zack). Obviously biblical in origin and common amongst the Amish, Mennonite, Brethren and their many derivative denominations, but these names were also common to everyone in the region. Religious or not.

[@stacyrussell460]

I would have thought names like Hope, Faith, Grace or Charity were common. Or even Abigail (sometimes spelled Avigayle or Avigale).

[@renaebailey82]

I like some old fashioned names

[@bjgoels1]

Bonus syllable. Hahaha!

[@greglautzenheiser3864]

The only Adel I know of in Adams County in Indiana is actually Adeline...

[@qqq1q1qqqqqqq]

My almost 4yo granddaughter is named Adeline. It seems all the old names are coming back. Elenore/Eleanor/other spellings is pretty popular. A girl I went to school with has a granddaughter named Eliza. Seems like Hazel has made comeback, too.

[@donnaml8776]

From what I could find Lovina, with English origin means God bless. Or God’s bless.

[@ferdi5407]

Adel - if it is of Swiss or Germanic origin it could mean gentle or refined

[@xshiromorix]

I wonder if the prevalence of the name Ruby has anything to do with Proverbs 31:10 - "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies."

[@karrenpopovics2780]

My great aunt name was Aletra..also 100% Italian. My other great aunt was named Adelaide..anyone know the Italian source?

[@renaebailey82]

Sadie is a nice girls name

[@sonyafox3271]

I lived in Pleasant, Indiana at one point, the Amish was my neighbors. I was told that this was where the outcast Amish live. Also the Mennonites lived there. I never heard a lot of there first names but, a lot of the Amish had the last name Radar. You never seen the Mennonites much unless they were sending monthly pamphlets and came knocking on your door to join there religion and, they would state if your not going to join our church in a round about way the next thing they would ask you to give them a donation of money. The Amish can be persistent in some ways. But, in all the things, I have went to where the Amish have a hand in it and even when, I had them as neighbors the Amish over all are a much more friendlier bunch, course, those Mennonites that were my neighbors to that’s the only Mennonites, I had ever been around.

[@chelsearoodzant]

I have a friend Arletta dieffenbach - she’s American but obviously German heritage - so Arleta probably comes from germany!

[@AmishAmerica]

Could be! It's funny though, if you google the name, I see just in the first few results claims that it is of Irish Gaelic origin and also Spanish origin...so hard to say. It could be that it originated in one of those places and then spread to other European countries.?

[@arlettacaruso4209]

I got my name from my great grandmother who was Amish. Oddly enough you'll hear the name also in the deep South with no Amish affiliation.

[@mariekatherine5238]

Sylvie, Starla, Marina, Rhoda, Dorcas, Bertha just thinking of people I know!

[@benw9949]

Esau is most typically pronounced in English as /EE-saw/, but would be /AY-zow/ in German and /EH-sow/ in Spanish, using the closest English phonetic spellings. I've forgotten how the name Esai in Spanish and a few other languages connects back to the Hebrew source names. -- Linda is a common Spanish women's / girls' name, and means "beautiful, clean" with the association of "pristine, faultless" from the connection of beautiful with clean. Spanish has the adjective "lindo, lends, linda, lindas" (male singular and plural, and female singular and plural) with the meaning of beautiful, clean, pure, pristine, faultless. But Spanish also had Belinda and Rosalinda. Spanish, like other European languages, borrows names from each other and from Biblical Latin, Greek, and Hebrew sources, plus migrations and intermarriages throughout history, to carry names around.

[@benw9949]

Lovina -- probably carries an association with the English word Love, for the Amish, who do know English. Lavina and Lavinia might have come into Amish usage from their German colonist sources, and remember that the parts of Europe that later became most of the German-speaking modern countries, were formerly part of the very German "Holy Roman Empire" in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. German took in Latin names and words then. Things get complicated, and I'm not exactly a great scholar of European or German-speaking history. Also recall, the "Pennsylvania Dutch" are actually Deutsch, German speakers, from colonists from all over the German-speaking Europe, who came to the American Colonies. German was reportedly so common that it almost became a second language for the Colonies, and people wrote back and forth for or against it. Benjamin Franklin was British English, and not a fan of German becoming an official language of the Colonies and later the USA. He wrote against it and had influence. (He wanted English, not German or Dutch / Netherlands / Hollander, and not French, for the American Colonies, despite his diplomatic friendly ties to France.) But America has a large German-speaking immigrant influence from the pre-Colonial period onward. (And there was confusion between the Dutch / Holland / Netherlands language, and the German (Deutsch) language and people, all through the period of American colonization. People commonly mistook the two and even mixed them with English names and spelling, since spelling then was not standardized. My own last name and heritage may have English, German, and Dutch influence, it's hard to tell for sure which it was at the time, because of this, and because people might be bilingual or trilingual, but they often would adopt, or didn't know, spelling in the new country, or they wanted to fit in, or a clerk recording documents officially didn't know any better or spelled it how it sounded to them. But my family name exists in some form in all three languages, so, it gets interesting.

[@benw9949]

Lenita and Elvesta -- Lenita looks like it could be a borrowing or a respelling of another name, or a made-up variant. The word "Lenition" is from Latin and means the softening and tying of sounds together in linguistics. But it could be a form of Lennie or Lynn, Lynnette, all three women's names. Elvesta -- I'm not sure if it's related to Elvis or elves. (Elvis is somehow related to elves, if I remember right, but there's some other connection I don't remember too.) Vesta in Latin was a goddess or power of the evening and the hearth, and was the source for the Vestal Virgins and priestesses. But given the Amish strictures on religious beliefs, I would doubt they'd use that source. Still, vesta as the evening or the hearth would not be objectionable in themselves, I would think. But Elvesta, I'm not sure of. There canoe imports from friends and relatives taken into Amish customs, and because of being American settlers, of course, so who knows? I might not know what's going on there.

[@benw9949]

Cevilla -- Sevilla and Seville are two forms of the same city name, but I don't know if Cevilla is just a variant spelling, or what's going on there. Arlowene -- Wow. I don't recall the language source for the name Arlo, but it's an old historical name, besides the name of Arlo Guthrie. The ending -wene and -wena is (if I remember right) from Old English, such as the old-fashioned woemne's name Rowena. (I used to know a lady named Rowena.) I can't recall what -wene / -wena means, but my guess is, Arlowene is a blend or else a perfectly valid old name carried forward. English or German or British / Welsh / Gaelic, I don't know off hand, but names like that were used a lot from old times, even though men and women usually got nicknames for everyday usage.(English has some really unusual ones that carry forward into modern times or were lost, but come from the Old English and Middle English periods.)

[@benw9949]

Rosemanda or Rosamanda -- sounds like a combination. But I think I've run across the name Rosemund or Rosamund before, with the same ending as Edmund added on to the Rose, Rosa for the usual favorite flower. (There's also Rose of Sharon and Rosharon as their own names, with Sharon as an offshoot.)

[@HollyOak]

Where are you from? I'm from Australia, only ever spoke English and I pronounce Esau as Ed-sow. I've not heard anyone pronounce it any other way.

[@lindawild6568]

Lovina is a name that has a German background!

[@catherinehazur7336]

Jessica? Yael is Hebrew for deer. Azalea? Pearl? ALMA Means SOUL in Spanish. Laurinda? Bethany? Kimberly?

[@bonnielayfield1406]

Orpha, Ruth’s sister.

[@manuscus6289]

Wilma Violeta

[@thomasspicer4130]

Rosmanda could come from the for rose of the world making Rosmanda a variant of the name Rosamund

[@aliismybff]

I just watched the male common names video as well and I'm rather surprised that Joshua and Ruth weren't common names as they are both Book in the Bible.

[@AmishAmerica]

These were only a selection of 10 common Amish names, there are of course more than that. Ruth is fairly common, but Joshua you don't see that often, I don't remember coming across many if any Amishmen with that name, though I wouldn't doubt that there are some. It's an interesting question why some Biblical names are popular among Amish and others aren't

[@Lost_AtSea_]

I always thought Ruthie, Katie or Esther were common names as well

[@amyjoseph5270]

My mother’s name is Leora as was her Grandmother

[@evamaggard]

My name is Eva … 2021

[@Classicvideogames45]

Yeah Leora, I actually new lady named Leora

[@stephaniebandosik]

Wow! I would not have expected Amish teens to be allowed to have a dreamcatcher. I wold love to hear more about the connection between Amish and Native Culture!