Wilma
Feminine
Wilma is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 140,101 girls against 754 boys since 1880. See Wilma as a boy name
Wilma is the short form of a long Germanic name, recorded here for boys as well as girls. One woman who carried it became, for a few days, the fastest woman in the world, having spent much of her childhood unable to walk.
How old is the name Wilma?
Wilma was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Wilma alive today was born around 1930, making them about 95 years old. About 40,500 people named Wilma are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Wilma most popular?
Wilma peaked in 1925, reaching #62 nationally. Today it ranks #3645, 3,583 places below that high. See the whole 1925 chart.
Wilma appears on these lists:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Wilma
Wilma Rudolph had polio as a small child, lost the use of her left leg, and wore a brace for years while her family drove her weekly to a hospital a long way off and massaged the leg at home between trips. She was one of twenty-two children. She started running, made an Olympic team at sixteen, and at the next games won the hundred, the two hundred and the relay, becoming the first American woman to take three golds at one Olympics. The homecoming parade in her Tennessee town was, at her insistence, the first integrated public event the place had held.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The longer name is a double diminutive built on Wilhelm, whose Germanic elements are documented. This short form is recorded on its own and the record does not explain its use for both sexes.
Pronouncing Wilma
WIL-muh
Two syllables with the stress in front. There is nothing in it to get wrong.
Nicknames for Wilma
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
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 19274,153 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #62reached in 1925
- Change vs 2022
- −4.7%41 in 2025, from 43
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.
Wilma in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Wilma in Dutch — same name
- Wilma in German — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana.
Wilmas among us
people named Wilma are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 39,202 born in 2025 was named Wilma
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 Leona test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Wilma's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Leona climbed just as high around 1904, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Leona's path sketches the road Wilma is walking now.
Wilma 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 Wilma is headed
Wilma 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.
Wilma beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Wilma in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is read correctly at first sight and never needs spelling out loud.
- It is short on paper and quick for a child to learn to write.
- It is recorded for boys and for girls, so it does not force a reading on anyone.
- One cartoon character has owned the name in American minds for two generations.
- In America it reads as belonging to an older generation, which is either the appeal or the obstacle.
- This spelling goes overwhelmingly to girls but is recorded for boys as well, so a form will occasionally guess wrong.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Wilma to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Wilma
Feminine · #3645 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Wilmas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 40,500 people named Wilma are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Wilma in 2025?
- Wilma ranks #3645 among US girl names in 2025, with 41 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Wilma?
- About 1 in every 39,202 US girls born in 2025 was named Wilma — 41 in all.
- Will my child share the name Wilma with classmates?
- Wilma will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Wilma
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Elenor#3645 · Azucena#3645 · Alaura#3645 · Judah#3645 · Rylen#3645 · Zamiyah#3645 · Naiara#3645 · Marietta#3645
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Wilma? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Wilma and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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
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