first name
ERMA
of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census
Of the 15,161 people named Erma, 52.1% reported their origin as White, 31.3% as Black and 11.8% as Hispanic or Latino. Virtually all are female (99.7%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.
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Erma peaked in 1920, when 1,541 babies got the name.
At least 55,187 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.
Erma by decade
Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1900s, when it ranked #232. The largest share of babies named Erma, 47.2%, were born between 1901 and 1927, the Greatest Generation's birth years.
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 Erma is most common
Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Erma has been most common in Arkansas (5.3×), West Virginia (3.3×), and Mississippi (3.1×), and least common in Massachusetts (0.07×).
46,068 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 Erma
Spelled almost the same
One first name in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Erma, most common first.
Compare
🔎 ERMA 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦⬜⬜ 1 in 19,922 Americans Rarer than 77.5% of us Peaked in 1920 with 1,541 babies Beat that 👇 https://howrareismy.name/first/erma/