Rima
Feminine · “white antelope”
Rima is the Arabic word for a white antelope, the Spanish word for a rhyme, and the name of a heroine in a once-famous English novel about a South American forest.
How old is the name Rima?
Rima first appears in US birth records in 1927 — 98 years ago. The typical Rima alive today was born around 1989, making them about 36 years old. About 1,500 people named Rima are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Rima most popular?
Rima peaked in 1966, reaching #2453 nationally. Today it ranks #3975, 1,522 places below that high. See the whole 1966 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Rima
Ours, offered as ours. The Arabic word is the best of the three: rim names the white gazelle of the Arabian desert, which classical poetry uses constantly as a figure for grace and for a beautiful woman's eyes. The Spanish rima is a rhyme. And Hudson's Green Mansions gave the English-speaking world a Rima who was a forest spirit, a book once so popular that a memorial to her stands in Hyde Park. Three unrelated things, one very short name.
Meaningscholars disagree
white antelope; or rhyme
Arabic rim names a white gazelle or oryx and gives Rima and Reem. Spanish and Italian rima means a rhyme or a line of verse. W. H. Hudson invented the character Rima in 1904. All three are documented and unrelated.
Pronouncing Rima
REE-mah
Two syllables, first stressed. There is little variation.
Nicknames for Rima
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
- 1927
- Most girls named
- 201738 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2453reached in 1966
- Change vs 2023
- +89.5%36 in 2025, from 19
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.
Rima in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Reem in Arabic — related form
- Rima in Spanish — related form
- Rimah in Hebrew — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, Michigan, California.
Rimas among us
people named Rima are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 44,646 born in 2025 was named Rima
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Arlen test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Rima's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Arlen climbed just as high around 1937, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Arlen's path sketches the road Rima is walking now.
Rima 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 Rima is headed
Rima should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low 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.
Rima beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Rima in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Three real traditions produce it, each with something good behind it.
- Four letters and two syllables, about as easy to write as a name gets.
- Open vowels make it easy to say in most languages.
- Rima, Reem and Rhema are all close and get confused.
- In Spanish it is an ordinary noun meaning a rhyme.
- The three possible sources mean entirely different things.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Rima
Feminine · #3975 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Rimas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,500 people named Rima are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Rima in 2025?
- Rima ranks #3975 among US girl names in 2025, with 36 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Rima?
- About 1 in every 44,646 US girls born in 2025 was named Rima — 36 in all.
- Will my child share the name Rima with classmates?
- Rima will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Rima
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Rubie#3975 · Bradley#3975 · Jodi#3975 · An#3975 · Ilianna#3975 · Saja#3975 · Ansleigh#3975 · Dorcas#3975
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Rima? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Rima and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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
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