Amias

My last name is Amias! Lots of children got named after my grandfather (he was a popular obstetrician, so parents occasionally named the children he delivered after him), which is why I feel like my information on it applies to Amias as a first name as well as a surname. It's pronounced AY-mee-as; The "ay" rhymes with "say", and there's a strong emphasis on that first syllable. It's actually adapted from Hebrew, at least in my family's case. "Ami" means my people/my nation, and "oz" means strong, so the name was strung together to mean "my people are strong", or "the strength of my nation". My family changed their name to Amias after escaping antisemitic persecution in Russia, and the name reflects their pride and resilience in spite of oppression. Hope my two cents were helpful — I think it's a wonderful name!

Some authorities have explained this and Amyas as contractions of Amadeus; others hold it to be a Latinization of Esme.