Head to head · Girls' names
Alma vs Reign
#449 vs #451 in 2025 · both Latin roots
Alma is a whisker ahead (#449 vs #451 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Alma is back after a long quiet spell, Reign is stepping back from its peak.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Alma leads 6 measures of 6; Reign leads 0.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Alma #70, Reign — — Alma higher
- 1890s: Alma #53, Reign — — Alma higher
- 1900s: Alma #56, Reign — — Alma higher
- 1910s: Alma #68, Reign — — Alma higher
- 1920s: Alma #91, Reign — — Alma higher
- 1930s: Alma #129, Reign — — Alma higher
- 1940s: Alma #188, Reign — — Alma higher
- 1950s: Alma #275, Reign — — Alma higher
- 1960s: Alma #374, Reign — — Alma higher
- 1970s: Alma #384, Reign — — Alma higher
- 1980s: Alma #401, Reign — — Alma higher
- 1990s: Alma #428, Reign #9705 — Alma higher
- 2000s: Alma #628, Reign #4677 — Alma higher
- 2010s: Alma #727, Reign #1468 — Alma higher
- 2020s: Alma #489, Reign #395 — Reign higher
Alma stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Reign took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Alma | Reign |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #70 | — |
| 1890s | #53 | — |
| 1900s | #56 | — |
| 1910s | #68 | — |
| 1920s | #91 | — |
| 1930s | #129 | — |
| 1940s | #188 | — |
| 1950s | #275 | — |
| 1960s | #374 | — |
| 1970s | #384 | — |
| 1980s | #401 | — |
| 1990s | #428 | #9705 |
| 2000s | #628 | #4677 |
| 2010s | #727 | #1468 |
| 2020s | #489 | #395 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Alma
- France#4
Reign
Not charting outside the US.
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Alma
"Nourishing, kind" in Latin; "soul" in Spanish and Portuguese
Alma is one spelling that several languages arrived at independently, which is why no single reading wins. Latin almus, feminine alma, means "nourishing" or "kind" and survives in alma mater, "nourishing mother." In Spanish, Portuguese and poetic Italian, alma is simply the word for soul. In Turkic languages, including Crimean Tatar, alma means apple — the same word behind Hungarian alma. Hebrew almah, "young woman," is a separate word that the name has been attached to in Jewish families. All of these are real; none cancels the others.
almus (Latin, "nourishing") → alma (Latin feminine; Spanish and Portuguese "soul") → Alma
How it traveled
The Latin adjective almus, "nourishing," was applied to goddesses and later to universities, giving the phrase alma mater. Quite separately, Spanish and Portuguese inherited alma as the plain word for soul, and Turkic languages carried an unrelated alma meaning apple — the source of the river Alma in Crimea.
Reign
rule, sovereignty; the period a monarch holds the throne
The vocabulary word comes through Old French regne from Latin regnum, 'kingdom, rule', built on rex, 'king'. The given name takes its sense straight from the English word.
regnum (Latin) → regne (Old French) → reigne (Middle English) → Reign
How it traveled
The word traveled a well-lit road: Latin regnum passed into Old French as regne, and Norman French carried it into Middle English, where it settled as the reign of a king or queen. Its use as a personal name is recent and American, part of a wider habit of lifting nouns of standing and aspiration straight off the page — the same impulse behind Legend, Royal and Empress.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Alma
AL-muh
Stress on the first syllable. Spanish and Portuguese speakers say AHL-mah, with a fuller first vowel; both are the same name, and neither needs correcting.
- Al — The main short form in English-speaking households; informal, and also a short form of several men's names.
- Allie — Informal; shared with Alice, Allison and Alexandra, and used as a standalone given name too.
- Almita — Spanish diminutive, used affectionately within families rather than as a public name.
- Ally — Spelling variant of Allie, informal, more common among younger speakers.
Reign
RAYN
One syllable, identical in sound to rain and rein. There is no second accepted pronunciation.
- Rey — The most usual short form in English; also stands alone as a given name for both boys and girls.
- Reignie — Informal, family-level; rarely written down.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Alma if you want…
- a name on the way upup 111 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itAlma runs 2 syllables, Reign 1
- plenty of nickname options4 recorded short forms — Al, Allie and Almita
- a name that charts abroad tooAlma is on the national lists of France
Choose Reign if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsReign is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesReign is 1 syllable to Alma's 2
- a newer arrivalReign entered the US charts in 1996
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Alma
Strengths
- Spelled the same way in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Hungarian and Bosnian — no adjusting for grandparents or passports.
- Two syllables and entirely phonetic; almost no one will need it spelled out twice.
- On record in the United States since the earliest years of national name statistics, and never fully out of use since.
To consider
- To Spanish and Portuguese speakers, Alma is not an opaque name but a familiar word — soul. Whether that lands as lovely or as a little literal depends entirely on the family.
- Most Almas in the United States today are well into later life, so some ears will place the name a couple of generations back before they place it as new again.
- It sits close to Alba, Elma and Ilma, and over the phone the first vowel occasionally gets misheard. A single repeat usually fixes it.
Reign
Strengths
- A single syllable that sits easily in front of longer middle names and surnames without crowding them.
- Spelled with an ordinary English word everyone already knows, so it never needs to be sounded out letter by letter.
- One pronunciation, unmistakable anywhere English is spoken — no regional variants to correct.
To consider
- Said aloud, it is indistinguishable from rain, rein and the spelling Rayne. Expect to specify which one every time it is written down for the first time.
- The word means rule and sovereignty, and some people will remark on that. It is worth deciding in advance whether you enjoy that conversation or would rather not have it.
- It leans toward girls without settling there, so forms and first impressions will sometimes guess wrong for a boy — easy to correct, but it will happen.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Alma and Reign in full.
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Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Vintage names making a comeback
- Grandmother-chic: 1920s names ready to return
- France's favorites still rare in America
- Victorian names ready for a second century
- all guides
Where Alma and Reign each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Alma or Reign — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Alma or Reign?
- Alma, in 2025: Alma ranked #449 with 689 babies; Reign ranked #451 with 682 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Alma or Reign?
- Alma. Over the last five years Alma moved up 111 places; Reign moved down 95 places.
- Which is the older name, Alma or Reign?
- Alma was already in use when US records began in 1880; Reign entered the US charts in 1996. On the American record, Alma is the older name.
- How many people are named Alma and Reign?
- About 56,000 people named Alma are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 7,900 people named Reign are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Almas or Reigns in the classroom?
- Alma will almost certainly be the only one in school. Reign will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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