Amelia in Cursive

Before you start, here is what is in the name. These facts come from the letters themselves, using the same school-style cursive model as the drawing above.

Amelia is written with 6 letters: A, m, e, l, i, a. The picture shows each different letter on its own, with the shape to aim for. The table below it lists every join in order, so you can see where the pen has to travel between letters.

The joins, one by one

A join is the connecting stroke between two letters. Where it starts depends on the letter you just finished, and where it ends depends on the letter coming next. This table follows the school-style model used for the drawings on this site; some programs use slightly different joins.

The capital A

In the model used on this site the capital A is a pointed tent with a crossbar, close to the print A but written with a flowing lean: up the left side, down the right, then a short bar across, which leads into the m. Other school models draw an oval A instead, so if your school teaches the oval form, follow your teacher’s version and use this page for the joins.

m, e, l: the middle of the name

After the capital A the name runs m, e, l, i. The m has three even humps. The e is a small closed loop on the middle line that must stay open enough to read. The l is a tall narrow loop. The e and l sit very close, and the two shapes are easy to merge. Write the e small and keep its loop open, then lift your eye to the top line before you start the l.

Two a letters, written differently

The first a is a capital and the last is lowercase, and they are different shapes: a pointed tent at the start, a closed oval at the end. The lowercase a has to be clearly smaller than the capital. People often make the last a too big or leave it open. Close it on the top, finish on the baseline, and give the name a short exit flick.

These are the slips that show up most often with this name. Check your own lines against the list before you move on.

• Leaving a gap between the A and the m. The crossbar should lead into the first hump.
• Mixing up the e and l. The e is small and open, the l is tall and narrow.
• Two humps in the m instead of three.
• Leaving the final a open, so it reads as a u.

Write ame on a line ten times, then lia ten times. These two chunks hold all the joins in the name. Then join them together and add the capital A. If you want to practise the capital A alone, make a full row of just that letter at twice the height of the lowercase letters. Compare the first and last a: the capital is a pointed tent, the final a a small closed oval, and the two should look clearly different.

The one-page PDF has the name once in black as a model, two grey rows to trace, a blank ruled row and the short forms of Amelia to trace underneath. It prints on Letter or A4. For another name or a full class set, use the worksheet generator, and for blank ruled paper see cursive lined paper.

Amy, Millie and Mia are common short forms of Amelia. Amy keeps the A and the m and ends in a y with a tail. Millie has an M, two tall letters and an e. Mia is only three letters and is one of the shortest names on this site; see Mia in cursive for its full page.

Amelia is generally explained as a Germanic name connected to the word amal, meaning work. It is often confused with Aemilia, the Roman family name that gives Emily, but the two are usually treated as separate in origin, even though they are often mixed up in records.

Amelia Earhart, the American aviator who flew solo across the Atlantic in 1932, is probably the best-known bearer. The name was also used by British princesses in the eighteenth century, which helped keep it in view.