Derivation of the name Amite City, Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana
Submitted to the USGenWeb Archives by JohnK Wright, IV, July, 2004

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>From The Florida Parishes, approximate date: Sept. 21, 1915

 

"Derivation of the name "Amite" City.
 
Controversy is frequently roused over the proper pronunciation and derivation of 
the name Amite. The residents of Amite were moved to adopt the name after the 
Amite river and the county of Amite in Mississippi.
 
Like so much of the American nomenclature, the application has been Anglicized, 
the original French word being Amitie, signifying friendship,  The last " i " has 
been dropped and the accent displaced by the citizens.

The customary pronunciation now in vogue is as if written Ah Mit. The proper 
pronunciation should be as if written Ah  me  tay. 

Mr. Charles S. Stewart, brother of the famous Confederate leader, General A. P. 
Stewart, was one of the first residents of Amite, added the word "city" to the 
name to distinguish the municipality from the river and county of the same name."