Noma
Feminine
The likeliest explanation for this name is Naomi with its middle taken out. The i and the o at the center are what give that name its length, and removing them leaves two syllables that keep the opening and the ending and nothing between — which is a very ordinary thing for a spoken form to do.
How old is the name Noma?
Noma first appears in US birth records in 1886 — 139 years ago. The typical Noma alive today was born around 1926, making them about 99 years old. About 400 people named Noma are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Noma most popular?
Noma peaked in 1912, reaching #770 nationally. See the whole 1912 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Naomi to Noma
The story of Noma
In the Nguni languages of southern Africa, the same syllables open a large family of women's names. Nomsa, Nomvula, Nombeko, Nomalanga and dozens more all begin this way, where the element functions as a prefix meaning mother of — so the names translate as mother of kindness, mother of rain, mother of respect. The construction is completely regular and enormously productive, and it makes those names transparent to any speaker in a way that European names of comparable age are not. There is no connection to the American name; the coincidence is simply worth knowing.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No source can be established. The contraction from Naomi is plausible and unproved; an independent formation is equally possible, and there is an unrelated tradition discussed below in which the same letters do real work.
How the name formed
- Naomi
- Noma
Pronouncing Noma
NOH-muh
Two syllables with the stress at the front. The spelling is unambiguous and nobody meeting it hesitates.
Nicknames for Noma
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
- 1886
- Most girls named
- 191666 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #770reached in 1912
- Change vs 1965
- −37.5%5 in 1972, from 8
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.
Nomas among us
people named Noma are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Noma sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It is short, soft and completely easy to say on first hearing.
- The spelling contains nothing that needs explaining twice.
- It is genuinely rare with no competing associations in English.
- The obvious clipping is an ordinary English word.
- No meaning can be given, because the source cannot be identified.
- The generation that used it is now very old.
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Noma
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Nomas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 400 people named Noma are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Noma in 2025?
- Noma is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Noma with classmates?
- Noma will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More N names
The most-given names starting with N, all years combined.
Nancy#965 · Nicole#382 · Natalie#89 · Norma#2002 · Nora#20 · Naomi#47 · Nellie#533 · Nina#324
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Noma? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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