Alma
Feminine · Latin roots · “Nourishing”
Alma is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 163,723 girls against 2,219 boys since 1880. See Alma as a boy name
Five letters, two syllables, and the same spelling in Spanish, Swedish, Hungarian and English — Alma crosses borders without changing shape. Latin gave us almus, "nourishing," the root behind alma mater; Spanish and Portuguese gave us alma, the everyday word for soul. It has been written down for a very long time and has never needed a variant spelling to survive.
How old is the name Alma?
Alma was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Alma alive today was born around 1927, making them about 98 years old. About 56,000 people named Alma are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Alma most popular?
Alma peaked in 1896, reaching #51 nationally. Today it ranks #449, 398 places below that high. See the whole 1896 chart.
Alma appears on these lists:
- 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
- Spanish and Latin names with warmth
- Names that work in Spanish and English
- all guides
Works in Spanish & Latino families too:
Where it comes from
From almus (Latin, "nourishing") to Alma
The story of Alma
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. The Battle of the Alma, fought there in September 1854 during the Crimean War, was an allied victory reported across Britain and France, and English-speaking families began naming daughters Alma in its wake, which is roughly when the name enters the American record. It settled afterwards into Spanish-speaking, Scandinavian, Central European and Anglophone families alike, each hearing something a little different in it.
Meaningscholars disagree
"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.
How the name formed
- almusLatin, "nourishing"
- almaLatin feminine; Spanish and Portuguese "soul"
- Alma
Related forms: Alma · Alma · Alma · Alma · Alma · Almah
Pronouncing 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.
Nicknames for Alma
High
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 19183,650 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #51reached in 1896
- Change vs 2022
- +4.7%689 in 2025, from 658
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Alma in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Alma in Spanish — same name
- Alma in Portuguese — same name
- Alma in Swedish — same name
- Alma in Hungarian — same name
- Alma in Bosnian — same name
- Almah in Hebrew — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York. INSEE rounds every published count to the nearest five for statistical confidentiality; the ranks are calculated from the exact figures. International figures from INSEE. Sources
Almas among us
people named Alma are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 2,333 born in 2025 was named Alma
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Alma is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Alma is headed
Alma should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Alma beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Alma in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- 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.
- Short enough to stand on its own, with Al and Allie available if a nickname is ever wanted.
- 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.
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Alma
Feminine · Latin roots · #449 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Almas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 56,000 people named Alma are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Alma in 2025?
- Alma ranks #449 among US girl names in 2025, with 689 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Alma?
- About 1 in every 2,333 US girls born in 2025 was named Alma — 689 in all.
- Will my child share the name Alma with classmates?
- Alma will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Alma
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Zariah#449 · Reign#451 · Calliope#451 · Mariah#447 · Adelynn#447 · Emmy#445 · Alyssa#453 · Lilliana#445
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Alma? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration; international figures from national statistics agencies. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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