Alma

What Alma means

Means “nourishing, kind”

Usually explained as Latin alma (“nourishing, kind”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Alma” (revision 92283693), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Alma?

US: Rising: up from #684 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #609 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1894, when 1,177 girls got the name (#52 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 2,333 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 1,141 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 1,278 baby girls in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in MN (1.16 per 1,000 girls), FL (1.04 per 1,000 girls), OR (1.0 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Alma is #449 in the US and #211 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.0% of US babies named Alma were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

Other spellings

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Elma32 US · 31 E&W
• Ilma14 US · 8 E&W

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Alma

Girls

• Marcella#948Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1922, with 1,537 babies; 272 in 2025
• Octavia#308“the eighth”^*
• Frances#318Editor’s note Up from #513 in 2015 to #318 in 2025 in the US
• Regina#395“queen”^*
• Celina#827Polish form of Celine, meaning “heaven”^*
• Sylvia#300“forest”^*

For a brother

• Francis#420“Frankish (man); a Frank”^*
• Lawrence#518Editor’s note Down from #499 in 2015 to #518 in 2025 in the US
• Leon#138“lion”^*
• Theodore#4Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #99 in 2015, #4 in 2025
• Martin#335“of or like Mars”^*
• Lionel#659“lion”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Latin, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Alma’s. Rank is US 2025.