Girls' name · since 1880
Alma
163,723 babies named Alma in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1918. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #241 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #449 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 163,723
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Yes -- Alma is the #449 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 163,723 recorded since 1880.
Alma has 163,723 recorded births among girls since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #449 as of the latest data, more common than 97% of girls, busiest in the 1920s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #241 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #449 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 163,723 born since 1880
- 1920s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Alma ranks #241 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #449 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 163,723 born since 1880, peaking in the 1920s.
- #241 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #449 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 163,723
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Alma's 163,723 recorded births place it above 99.66% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
50 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Texas.
How Alma compares
163,723 Top 2% higher than 98% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Alma's all-time total is 435x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Alma | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 163,723 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 3,650 | 21 | 19,840 |
Alma's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Alma splits its recorded history at 1953: 26% of all births land in the more recent half, 74% in the earlier half, leaning more toward its earlier era than today's. The single quietest year was 1880 (277 births) -- compare that against the 1918 peak of 3,650 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Alma popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1918)
- 3,650
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Alma popularity over time - boys
2,219 total births recorded since 1880 (Alma as boys' name)
Alma by decade
1920s is the heaviest window (30,434 births, 19% of the file).
1920s was Alma's strongest decade.
30,434 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 19% of all-time use.
Alma births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 5,190
1880s
5,190 births
- 1890s 11,184
1890s
11,184 births
- 1900s
1900s
13,092 births
- 1910s
1910s
27,515 births
- 1920s
1920s
30,434 births
- 1930s
1930s
18,251 births
- 1940s
1940s
12,401 births
- 1950s 9,637
1950s
9,637 births
- 1960s 6,382
1960s
6,382 births
- 1970s 5,592
1970s
5,592 births
- 1980s 5,688
1980s
5,688 births
- 1990s 6,030
1990s
6,030 births
- 2000s 4,553
2000s
4,553 births
- 2010s 3,965
2010s
3,965 births
- 2020s 3,809
2020s
3,809 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 30,434 births (19% of all-time use).
How Alma compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Alma's total volume
Alma by state
Where Alma concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Texas | | 16,206 | 9.9% |
| #2 | California | | 13,182 | 8.1% |
| #3 | North Carolina | | 6,177 | 3.8% |
| #4 | Pennsylvania | | 6,101 | 3.7% |
| #5 | New York | | 5,523 | 3.4% |
| #6 | Kentucky | | 5,420 | 3.3% |
| #7 | Georgia | | 5,194 | 3.2% |
| #8 | Tennessee | | 4,868 | 3.0% |
16,206 of 163,723 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 50 reporting states.
Alma appears in 50 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Alma? ▼
Where does Alma sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Alma most popular? ▼
Where is Alma most popular? ▼
How long has the name Alma been used? ▼
What names are similar to Alma? ▼
What to do with Alma's data
- Alma's decade-level peak was the 1920s (30,434 total births); usage has since declined to 3,809 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Texas records the most Almas (16,206 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Texas names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Alma
Nearby Names Like Alma
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Alma
Compare Alma side by side: Alma vs Almeda Alma vs Almeta Alma vs Almira
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Alma
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Alma: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1918)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Alma draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.