How rare is the name Alma?

102,369 people in the United States have the first name Alma, about 1 in 2,950. It ranks #546 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

ALMA

#546

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
102,369
About
1 in 2,950
This common or more
60.1%
Who bears it

Of the 102,369 people named Alma, 67.5% reported their origin as Hispanic or Latino, 20.6% as White and 7.9% as Black. 99.3% are female. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Alma peaked in 1918, when 3,702 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
1918
Births that year
3,702
In 2025*
696 ▼81%
Recorded as
almost entirely female

At least 165,942 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Alma by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1890s, when it ranked #72. The largest share of babies named Alma, 39.5%, were born between 1901 and 1927, the Greatest Generation's birth years.

1880s#995,287
1890s#7211,295
1900s#7613,204
1910s#11327,859
1920s#15630,759
1930s#23618,531
1940s#34512,551
1950s#5009,757
1960s#6646,481
1970s#7025,728
1980s#7225,850
1990s#8056,158
2000s#1,1394,622
2010s#1,3394,018
2020s#9733,842
Before 190110.8%
Greatest Generation 1901–2739.5%
Silent Generation 1928–4518.9%
Baby boom 1946–6410.9%
Generation X 1965–805.6%
Millennials 1981–965.8%
Generation Z 1997–124.3%
2013 and later4.2%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Alma is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Alma has been most common in Kentucky (2.4×), Arkansas (2.3×), and Mississippi (2.2×), and least common in Delaware (0.13×).

130,462 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Alma

#544 Caitlin · 102,632#545 Armando · 102,571#547 Tommy · 101,695#548 Olga · 101,653

Spelled almost the same

5 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Alma, most common first.

#16,782 Aloma · 667#17,303 Alima · 640#36,405 Alema · 218#43,336 Alama · 163#46,679 Alna · 142

Also a last name

As a last name, Alma ranks #39,225 of 156,621, with 606 people. See Alma as a last name

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