Gema
Feminine · “gem”
Gema is a gem in Spanish — the Latin gemma, which meant a bud on a vine before it meant a jewel.
How old is the name Gema?
Gema first appears in US birth records in 1959 — 66 years ago. The typical Gema alive today was born around 2007, making them about 18 years old. About 2,900 people named Gema are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Gema most popular?
Gema peaked in 1999, reaching #1580 nationally. Today it ranks #1990, 410 places below that high. See the whole 1999 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From gemma to Gema
The story of Gema
Gemma named a vine bud in agricultural Latin and a jewel in ornamental Latin, and Roman writers used both. Gemma Galgani, an Italian mystic who died in 1903, was canonized in 1940 and made the name common in Italy. Spanish uses Gema, and Spanish-speaking families brought it to America, where it is in current use.
Meaning
gem, jewel; bud
From the Latin gemma, which named both a bud and a precious stone — the shared image is of something swelling and shining. Spanish gema keeps both senses. Saint Gemma Galgani carried the Italian form. The Latin is ordinary and the double meaning documented.
How the name formed
- gemma
- Gema
Related forms: Gema · Gemma · Gemma
Pronouncing Gema
HEH-mah
Two syllables, stress on the first. Spanish gives the g an h sound; Italian Gemma is JEM-mah.
Nicknames for Gema
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
- 1959
- Most girls named
- 2022125 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1580reached in 1999
- Change vs 2024
- −17.9%96 in 2025, from 117
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.
Gema in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Gema in Spanish — same name
- Gemma in Italian — related form
- Gemma in Catalan — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Gemas among us
people named Gema are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 16,742 born in 2025 was named Gema
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Gema
- #1990
- Gema on the 2025 chart
- #168
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Gema went to 96 girls in 2025, but Gemma is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 1,901, which makes it the 168th most-given girls’ name of the year — 1,822 places above the chart.
- Gemma1,805
- Gema96
About 1 girl in 845 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 16,742 for Gema itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Arlyn test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Gema's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Arlyn climbed just as high around 1937, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Arlyn's path sketches the road Gema is walking now.
Gema 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 Gema is headed
Gema looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 22% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
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.
Gema beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Gema in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That gemma meant a bud before a jewel is a genuinely good piece of Latin.
- Gemma is available as a related form with a large record.
- Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk in Spanish.
- The initial consonant differs sharply between Spanish and Italian readings.
- Gemma with two m's is far commoner in English-speaking countries.
- English speakers will default to a hard or soft g wrongly.
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What they receive
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Gema
Feminine · #1990 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Gemas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,900 people named Gema are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Gema?
- Gema is one of 2 recorded spellings. Gemma is the more common one — 1,805 births in 2025 against 96 for Gema.
- How popular is the name Gema in 2025?
- Gema ranks #1990 among US girl names in 2025, with 96 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Gema?
- About 1 in every 16,742 US girls born in 2025 was named Gema — 96 in all.
- Will my child share the name Gema with classmates?
- Gema will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Gema
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Emrie#1990 · Caliyah#1990 · Venus#1990 · Cambria#1990 · Arayah#1990 · Kristen#1990 · Fiadh#1990 · Maylani#1990
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Gema? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Gema and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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