About Amani
Amani has two important language associations: “wishes” in Arabic and “peace” in Swahili. These are distinct meanings attached to the same Roman-letter spelling. The name is used for girls and boys in the United States, with former New York Giants receiver Amani Toomer providing a familiar masculine example.
Arabic and Swahili meanings
In Arabic, Amani means “wishes.” It is traditionally used as a feminine name and carries the sense of hopes or things wished for. That is the explanation belonging to the Arabic personal name.
In Swahili, amani means “peace,” with related senses of safety and security. The Swahili word itself was borrowed from Arabic, but it is not the same Arabic word that gives the personal name its meaning of “wishes.”
The Arabic word is a plural: its singular form, umniya, means a wish, desire, or hope. Amani therefore expresses wishes collectively. The Swahili word instead emphasizes peacefulness and security, giving the identical spelling a separate association within East African language and naming.
The sequence of open vowels also travels easily into English pronunciation. Amani is usually said ah-MAH-nee, with three syllables and the stress in the middle. The long middle vowel gives the name its strongest emphasis.
Amani Toomer and American football
Amani Toomer joined the New York Giants in 1996 as a second-round draft choice from the University of Michigan. He spent thirteen seasons with the team, building a career as a wide receiver.
He was part of the Giants team that defeated New England in Super Bowl XLII in 2008. Toomer led his team with six receptions in that game, contributing to one of the championship’s defining upsets.
Toomer’s postseason contributions also included two touchdown catches in the Giants’ divisional playoff victory over the Dallas Cowboys during their championship run. Across his career he played in eleven postseason games, as well as 190 regular-season games.
Toomer’s given name is also a well-established male example of a spelling that American birth records use more often for girls. His career makes the masculine use visible beyond a set of annual statistics.
His 2002 season included 1,343 receiving yards. Earlier in his career he also worked as a punt returner, returning a punt 87 yards for a touchdown against Buffalo in September 1996. His career therefore included special-teams play as well as receiving.
American popularity
Amani’s largest annual American total for girls was 529 in 2008, when it ranked #586. In 2025 it was given to 419 girls, ranking #678.
The same year also records 107 boys named Amani, ranking #1,585. Both uses therefore remain part of its recent American history, though the female total is larger.
Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution
Existing Wiktionary material is attributed under CC BY-SA 4.0 where applicable. American popularity figures use the local Social Security Administration series for this exact spelling; name-sex-year counts below five are omitted.
- Wiktionary: Amani (Swahili)
- SSA national name data
- Wikidata: Amani Abeid Karume
- Wikidata: Isaac Amani Massawe
- Wikidata: Amani Al-Khatahtbeh
- Wikidata: Amani Yao
- Wikidata: Amani Ballour
- Wikidata: Amani Swissi
- Madan: Swahili-English dictionary
- New York Giants: Amani Toomer
- Michigan Athletics: Super Bowl XLII
- Wiktionary: umniya
- Amani Toomer: career profile
Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
How popular is Amani?
In 2025, Amani ranked #678 among girls in the United States, with 419 recorded uses. The U.S. birth records first list this spelling for girls in 1969; its largest annual count was 529 in 2008. Rankings count each spelling separately. They describe national use, so local familiarity can differ. The popularity chart shows whether the name has remained common, returned after a quieter period, or risen recently.