Vilma
Feminine · “Germanic "resolute protector”
Several languages had no w sound and had to do something about Germanic names. Spanish and Italian used gu — Wilhelm became Guillermo and Guglielmo, William became Guillaume in French. Finnish and Hungarian used v instead, and that is where Vilma comes from.
How old is the name Vilma?
Vilma first appears in US birth records in 1901 — 124 years ago. The typical Vilma alive today was born around 1955, making them about 70 years old. About 2,900 people named Vilma are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Vilma most popular?
Vilma peaked in 1927, reaching #477 nationally. Today it ranks #7491, 7,014 places below that high. See the whole 1927 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Wilhelm to Vilma
The story of Vilma
The Germanic w gave the Romance languages a problem, because Latin had no such consonant in that position. Old French solved it by hardening the sound to gw and then g, which is why Frankish werra became guerre, wardon became garder, and Wilhelm became Guillaume — and why English, borrowing from both Norman and Parisian French, ended up with pairs like warden and guardian, warranty and guarantee, wile and guile. The same names traveling east through Hungarian and Finnish took v instead. Vilma is the result in those languages, and it reached America with Hungarian, Finnish and Mexican families; the figures peak in 1927.
Meaning
Germanic "resolute protector"
From Wilhelmina, the feminine of Wilhelm: wil, will or desire, plus helm, a helmet or protection. Vilma is the Hungarian, Finnish, Swedish and Spanish short form. The v is not a respelling but a substitution made by languages that lack the w sound; Hungarian and Finnish have no native w at all, and Spanish treats it as foreign.
How the name formed
- Wilhelm
- Wilhelmina
- Vilma
Related forms: Vilma · Vilma · Vilma · Wilhelmine
Pronouncing Vilma
VEEL-mah
Two syllables, stress on the first, with a long ee in Hungarian, Finnish and Spanish. English speakers usually say VIL-muh with a short first vowel.
Nicknames for Vilma
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
- 1901
- Most girls named
- 1927213 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #477reached in 1927
- Change vs 2022
- −33.3%14 in 2025, from 21
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.
Vilma in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Vilma in Hungarian — same name
- Vilma in Finnish — same name
- Vilma in Spanish — same name
- Wilhelmine in German — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California.
Vilmas among us
people named Vilma are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 114,805 born in 2025 was named Vilma
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 Francisca test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Vilma's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Francisca climbed just as high around 1902, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Francisca's path sketches the road Vilma is walking now.
Vilma 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
Vilma beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Vilma in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is settled and the Germanic elements are well documented.
- It is short, two syllables and easy to spell in any language.
- It is established in Hungarian, Finnish, Swedish and Spanish.
- English speakers shorten the first vowel.
- It is often taken for a variant of Velma, which is a separate name.
- The 1920s peak dates a bearer strongly.
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What they receive
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Vilma
Feminine · #7491 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Vilmas 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 Vilma are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Vilma in 2025?
- Vilma ranks #7491 among US girl names in 2025, with 14 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Vilma?
- About 1 in every 114,805 US girls born in 2025 was named Vilma — 14 in all.
- Will my child share the name Vilma with classmates?
- Vilma will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Vilma
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Christie#7491 · Carmelita#7491 · Jetta#7491 · Hildegard#7491 · Rickie#7491 · Billy#7491 · Angelyn#7491 · Jewell#7491
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Vilma? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Vilma and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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