Girls' name · since 1880
Elma
21,703 babies named Elma 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.
- #1,014 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #4,353 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 21,703
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Elma currently ranks #4353 among girls' names in America, with 21,703 babies recorded since 1880.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Elma has been recorded 21,703 times among girls since 1880, currently ranked #4353 nationally and more common than 75% of girls, with its heaviest use in the 1920s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #1,014 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #4,353 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 21,703 born since 1880
- 1920s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Elma ranks #1,014 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #4,353 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 21,703 born since 1880, peaking in the 1920s.
- #1,014 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #4,353 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 21,703
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Elma's 21,703 recorded births place it above 98.59% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
41 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Texas.
How Elma compares
21,703 Top 6% higher than 94% 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
Elma's all-time total is 58x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Elma | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 21,703 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 659 | 21 | 19,840 |
Elma's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Elma's full recorded timeline at 1953, 14% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 86% in the earlier half -- the name was more prevalent in its earlier era than it is today. Its quietest year on record was 1987, with just 10 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1918 peak of 659 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Elma popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1918)
- 659
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Elma popularity over time - boys
483 total births recorded since 1896 (Elma as boys' name)
Elma by decade
1920s is the heaviest window (4,990 births, 23% of the file).
1920s was Elma's strongest decade.
4,990 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 23% of all-time use.
Elma births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 643
1880s
643 births
- 1890s 1,355
1890s
1,355 births
- 1900s 1,940
1900s
1,940 births
- 1910s
1910s
4,802 births
- 1920s
1920s
4,990 births
- 1930s
1930s
2,793 births
- 1940s 1,810
1940s
1,810 births
- 1950s 1,139
1950s
1,139 births
- 1960s 654
1960s
654 births
- 1970s 329
1970s
329 births
- 1980s 196
1980s
196 births
- 1990s 183
1990s
183 births
- 2000s 411
2000s
411 births
- 2010s 298
2010s
298 births
- 2020s 160
2020s
160 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 4,990 births (23% of all-time use).
How Elma 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 Elma's total volume
Elma by state
Where Elma concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Texas | | 2,028 | 9.3% |
| #2 | North Carolina | | 943 | 4.3% |
| #3 | Pennsylvania | | 861 | 4.0% |
| #4 | Louisiana | | 700 | 3.2% |
| #5 | New York | | 622 | 2.9% |
| #6 | Ohio | | 609 | 2.8% |
| #7 | Mississippi | | 605 | 2.8% |
| #8 | Alabama | | 525 | 2.4% |
2,028 of 21,703 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 41 reporting states.
Elma appears in 41 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Elma? ▼
Where does Elma sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Elma most popular? ▼
Where is Elma most popular? ▼
How long has the name Elma been used? ▼
What names are similar to Elma? ▼
What to do with Elma's data
- Elma's decade-level peak was the 1920s (4,990 total births); usage has since declined to 160 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Texas records the most Elmas (2,028 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 Elma
Nearby Names Like Elma
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Elma
Compare Elma side by side: Elma vs Elmira Elma vs Elmer Elma vs Elmina
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Elma
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Elma: 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 Elma 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.