Irma
Feminine · “whole”
Irma is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 73,769 girls against 252 boys since 1880.
Irma is a fragment of much longer Germanic names, kept as a name in its own right. The element it comes from meant whole or universal, and it opened a whole family of compounds that have otherwise vanished.
How old is the name Irma?
Irma was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Irma alive today was born around 1936, making them about 89 years old. About 32,500 people named Irma are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Irma most popular?
Irma peaked in 1911, reaching #137 nationally. Today it ranks #3167, 3,030 places below that high. See the whole 1911 chart.
Irma appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From irmin to Irma
The story of Irma
German naming built long compounds and then wore them down, and Irma is what remains of several of them. It stayed a German name into the nineteenth century and moved into English and American use with German migration, arriving in the Midwest in quantity. In Spanish-speaking countries it took hold independently and strongly, which is why it now reads as much Mexican as German.
Meaning
whole, universal
From the Germanic element irmin or ermen, 'whole' or 'great'. It is the same element inside Irmgard and Irmtraud, and it appears in the name of the Irminsul, a sacred pillar of the pagan Saxons.
How the name formed
- irmin
- Irmgard
- Irma
Related forms: Irma · Irma · Irma · Irma
Pronouncing Irma
UR-muh
Two syllables, stress on the first. Spanish speakers roll the r and give the i a clearer sound, closer to EER-ma.
Nicknames for Irma
Limited
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
- 19211,376 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #137reached in 1911
- Change vs 2022
- −28.6%50 in 2025, from 70
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.
Irma in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Irma in German — same name
- Irma in Spanish — same name
- Irma in Italian — same name
- Irma in Hungarian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Florida.
Irmas among us
people named Irma are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 32,145 born in 2025 was named Irma
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
Irma 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 Irma is headed
Irma 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.
Irma beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Irma in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Four letters, one spelling, and identical in German, Spanish, Italian and Hungarian.
- Genuinely current in Spanish-speaking countries rather than only historical.
- A documented Germanic element with a meaning that has not been contested.
- A destructive Atlantic hurricane carried this name, and for people in Florida and the Caribbean that association is recent and unhappy.
- In English it reads as a name from an earlier generation, though the Spanish usage is a live counterweight.
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What they receive
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Irma
Feminine · #3167 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Irmas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 32,500 people named Irma are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Irma in 2025?
- Irma ranks #3167 among US girl names in 2025, with 50 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Irma?
- About 1 in every 32,145 US girls born in 2025 was named Irma — 50 in all.
- Will my child share the name Irma with classmates?
- Irma will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Irma
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Jozie#3167 · Lulu#3167 · Lucina#3167 · Skylee#3167 · Amairani#3167 · Jorja#3167 · Leyna#3167 · Myka#3167
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Irma? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Irma and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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