Elma
Feminine
Elma is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 21,703 girls against 483 boys since 1880.
Elma is a name that several traditions can claim and none can prove. It appears in nineteenth-century American records, in Scottish use, and as an ordinary Turkish word — and the three are unrelated.
How old is the name Elma?
Elma was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Elma alive today was born around 1924, making them about 101 years old. About 5,100 people named Elma are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Elma most popular?
Elma peaked in 1901, reaching #209 nationally. Today it ranks #4352, 4,143 places below that high. See the whole 1901 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Elma
Our story of Elma begins in a decade when a name only had to sound right. Wilhelmina was long, Emma was everywhere, Elmira and Almira and Selma were all in the same registers — and four letters that borrowed from every one of them would pass without comment on any certificate in the country. It went down in the American Midwest and South from the 1870s, peaked around 1890, and left no explanation. Somewhere else entirely, in Turkish, the same four letters mean an apple, which nobody involved knew.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No settled origin. It is read as a contraction of Wilhelmina or Elmira, as a Scottish blend of Elizabeth and Mary, as a feminine of Elmo, and — quite separately — as the Turkish elma, 'apple', which is a genuine word and a genuine Turkish name. The American name's actual source is not documented.
Pronouncing Elma
EL-muh
Two syllables, stress on the first. Turkish says it the same way with a purer first vowel.
Nicknames for Elma
Moderate
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
- 1918659 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #209reached in 1901
- Change vs 2022
- +28.0%32 in 2025, from 25
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.
Elma in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Elma in Turkish — same name
- Elma in Hungarian — same name
- Elmira in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, Indiana.
Elmas among us
people named Elma are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 50,227 born in 2025 was named Elma
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
Elma sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Elma is headed
Elma should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium 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.
Elma beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Elma in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Two clean syllables and no pronunciation risk in any English accent.
- It is a real living name in Turkish, which gives it a second existence.
- Short enough for a very young child to write.
- It has no documented meaning or parent name in English use.
- It is strongly period-coded to the late nineteenth century.
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What they receive
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Elma
Feminine · #4352 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Elmas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 5,100 people named Elma are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Elma in 2025?
- Elma ranks #4352 among US girl names in 2025, with 32 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Elma?
- About 1 in every 50,227 US girls born in 2025 was named Elma — 32 in all.
- Will my child share the name Elma with classmates?
- Elma will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Elma
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Adel#4352 · Lovella#4352 · Kaysha#4352 · Arissa#4352 · Joseline#4352 · Yajaira#4352 · Ahlam#4352 · Sigrid#4352
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Elma? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Elma and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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