He was born in Bergen and grew up on Fjøsanger. He was the son of Theodor Poul Lauritz Ameln (1847–1925) and his wife Olivia Dorothea Hildegund Wilander (1849–1912). He was the nephew of Johan Gerhard Theodor Ameln, and a brother of Haakon Ameln. In 1906, he married Aagot Christensen (1881–1968).
