Pamla
Feminine
Pamla writes a three-syllable name in two, which is how most Americans say it anyway. The name itself was invented by a poet, and a strikingly similar-looking word in English was produced by a different poem four hundred years earlier.
How old is the name Pamla?
Pamla first appears in US birth records in 1941 — 84 years ago. The typical Pamla alive today was born around 1959, making them about 66 years old. About 700 people named Pamla are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Pamla most popular?
Pamla peaked in 1949, reaching #1564 nationally. See the whole 1949 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Pamla
In the twelfth century somebody wrote a Latin comic poem about a young man in love, called Pamphilus, and it became one of the most widely copied texts in medieval Europe. It circulated as a small unbound booklet, the medieval equivalent of a cheap paperback, and eventually the name of the poem became the name for that format. Pamphilet, then pamphlet: a short thing, stitched not bound, on one subject, handed around. By the seventeenth century the word had lost every trace of the love poem and meant a political tract, which is what it still means. The name Pamela has nothing to do with it; it was invented separately, centuries later, by an Elizabethan writer. But the two words arrived in English by remarkably similar routes, which is that someone wrote something and the title escaped.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Pamela was coined rather than inherited, and the elements its inventor had in mind were never written down, so its sense is guesswork even in the full spelling. This shortened form adds nothing to the question.
Pronouncing Pamla
PAM-luh
Two syllables with the stress in front. Pamela has three on paper and two in most American speech, which is exactly what this spelling records.
Nicknames for Pamla
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
- 1941
- Most girls named
- 195339 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1564reached in 1949
- Change vs 1982
- +20.0%6 in 1985, from 5
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.
Pamlas among us
people named Pamla 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
Pamla 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 writes the name the way it is actually said, which is a defensible thing for a spelling to do.
- Pam is available as a short form from the first day and needs no explaining.
- It is short on paper and quick to write, with nothing silent in it.
- Pamela is the standard spelling by an enormous margin, and this one will be corrected to it constantly.
- Many readers will treat the missing letter as a typing slip and helpfully restore it.
- No origin is documented for the shortened form, so the meaning question belongs to the longer name.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Pamla to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Pamla? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Pamla
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Pamlas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Pamla are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Pamla in 2025?
- Pamla is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Pamla with classmates?
- Pamla will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More P names
The most-given names starting with P, all years combined.
Patricia#1334 · Pamela#2239 · Phyllis#11932 · Peggy#8362 · Paula#853 · Pauline#2957 · Pearl#776 · Paige#346
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Pamla? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Pamla and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle