Amma as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Amma

What is the meaning of the name Amma ?

The baby name Amma is a Female name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced AH-muh (English approximation) — /ˈɑːmə/ or /ˈæmə/,Tamil/Malayalam: AM-ma with a geminated 'm' — [amːa].

Amma is Akan, Malayalam, Tamil, Twi in Origin.

Amma is a cross-cultural feminine name and honorific. In Akan (Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire), it functions as a regional spelling of Ama, the day name for girls born on Saturday. In the Dravidian languages of South India - Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam - amma is the everyday word for “mother,” used as a respectful title and sometimes adopted as a given name; comparable maternal uses appear in Hindi–Urdu (Amma/Ammi) and Sinhala. In Icelandic and Old Norse, amma means “grandmother,” reinforcing the kinship sense.

It appears in West African records (often interchangeable with Ama) and in diaspora communities, and is borne as a devotional or public name by spiritual figures and social leaders. Early Christian monastic texts use Amma as the honorific for Desert Mothers such as Amma Syncletica and Amma Sarah. Related forms and diminutives include Ama, Ammi, and Ammu. Meanings center on “Saturday-born,” “mother,” or “grandmother,” evoking nurture, seniority, and auspicious birth.