Zulma
Feminine
Europe went through an oriental naming fashion, and Zulma is one of its products. Eighteenth- and nineteenth-century operas, novels and plays set in an imagined Turkey and Persia put names like Zulma, Zoraida, Zaida and Selim into French and Spanish use, where several of them stayed.
How old is the name Zulma?
Zulma first appears in US birth records in 1947 — 78 years ago. The typical Zulma alive today was born around 1980, making them about 45 years old. About 1,600 people named Zulma are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Zulma most popular?
Zulma peaked in 1974, reaching #1733 nationally. Today it ranks #7885, 6,152 places below that high. See the whole 1974 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Zulma
The fashion is well documented. European writers from the seventeenth century onward set works in a stylized Ottoman and Persian world — Racine's Bajazet, Mozart's Abduction from the Seraglio, Rossini's L'Italiana in Algeri, Byron's Turkish tales — and supplied their characters with names that sounded right without necessarily being real. Zaïre, Zulma, Zoraida, Zulima and Selim circulated in that literature, and Spanish- and French-speaking families adopted several of them as ordinary given names. Zulma became established in Latin America and Puerto Rico in particular. The American figures peak in 1974, with Puerto Rican families.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No secure derivation. Zulma appears in French literary and operatic works from the late eighteenth century in oriental settings, and it is generally taken as an author's coinage on Arabic-sounding lines rather than a genuine Arabic name. Connections to Arabic words have been proposed and none is documented. Any translation offered for Zulma is an invention.
Pronouncing Zulma
ZOOL-mah
Two syllables, stress on the first. Spanish says the z as an s in Latin America and as a th in Spain, so the name is SOOL-mah in most of the Americas.
Nicknames for Zulma
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
- 1947
- Most girls named
- 197452 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1733reached in 1974
- Change vs 2023
- +85.7%13 in 2025, from 7
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.
Zulma in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Zulma in Spanish — same name
- Zulma in French — same name
- Zulmira in Portuguese — related form
Zulmas among us
people named Zulma are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 123,636 born in 2025 was named Zulma
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 Kriste test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Zulma's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Kriste climbed just as high around 1955, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Kriste's path sketches the road Zulma is walking now.
Zulma 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
Zulma beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Zulma in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is short, two syllables and easy to say in Spanish or English.
- Zully is a warm and established short form.
- The initial Z makes it visually distinctive.
- There is no established meaning, despite the readings offered online.
- The z is pronounced differently in Spain and Latin America.
- It is rare in the United States and will need spelling out.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Zulma 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 Zulma? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Zulma
Feminine · #7885 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Zulmas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,600 people named Zulma are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Zulma in 2025?
- Zulma ranks #7885 among US girl names in 2025, with 13 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Zulma?
- About 1 in every 123,636 US girls born in 2025 was named Zulma — 13 in all.
- Will my child share the name Zulma with classmates?
- Zulma will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Zulma
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ola#7885 · Loula#7885 · Consuelo#7885 · Santa#7885 · Florentina#7885 · Marty#7885 · Jaye#7885 · Dollie#7885
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Zulma? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Zulma 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