Girls' name · since 1880
Norma
Norma has 278,071 recorded births since 1880 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1931 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #142 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #2,002 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 278,071
- born since 1880
- 1930s
- peak decade
Norma currently ranks #2002 among girls' names in America, with 278,071 babies recorded since 1880.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Norma has been recorded 278,071 times among girls since 1880, currently ranked #2002 nationally and more common than 88% of girls, with its heaviest use in the 1930s. 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.
- #142 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #2,002 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 278,071 born since 1880
- 1930s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Norma ranks #142 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #2,002 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 278,071 born since 1880, peaking in the 1930s.
- #142 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #2,002 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 278,071
- born since 1880
- 1930s
- peak decade
Norma's 278,071 recorded births place it above 99.8% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Texas.
How Norma compares
278,071 Top 1% higher than 99% 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
Norma's all-time total is 740x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Norma | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 278,071 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 8,759 | 21 | 19,840 |
Norma's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Norma splits its recorded history at 1953: 24% of all births land in the more recent half, 76% in the earlier half, leaning more toward its earlier era than today's. The single quietest year was 1881 (26 births) -- compare that against the 1931 peak of 8,759 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Norma popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1931)
- 8,759
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Norma popularity over time - boys
1,278 total births recorded since 1908 (Norma as boys' name)
Norma by decade
1930s is the heaviest window (72,878 births, 26% of the file).
1930s was Norma's strongest decade.
72,878 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 26% of all-time use.
Norma births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 590
1880s
590 births
- 1890s 1,885
1890s
1,885 births
- 1900s 3,335
1900s
3,335 births
- 1910s 15,500
1910s
15,500 births
- 1920s
1920s
65,241 births
- 1930s
1930s
72,878 births
- 1940s
1940s
43,030 births
- 1950s
1950s
30,801 births
- 1960s 21,519
1960s
21,519 births
- 1970s 10,272
1970s
10,272 births
- 1980s 5,553
1980s
5,553 births
- 1990s 4,109
1990s
4,109 births
- 2000s 1,992
2000s
1,992 births
- 2010s 852
2010s
852 births
- 2020s 514
2020s
514 births
What this shows Peak: 1930s at 72,878 births (26% of all-time use).
How Norma 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 Norma's total volume
Norma by state
Where Norma concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Texas | | 27,454 | 9.9% |
| #2 | California | | 19,902 | 7.2% |
| #3 | New York | | 17,805 | 6.4% |
| #4 | Ohio | | 15,830 | 5.7% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 15,554 | 5.6% |
| #6 | Pennsylvania | | 13,303 | 4.8% |
| #7 | Indiana | | 10,886 | 3.9% |
| #8 | Missouri | | 10,839 | 3.9% |
27,454 of 278,071 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Norma appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Norma? ▼
Where does Norma sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Norma most popular? ▼
Where is Norma most popular? ▼
How long has the name Norma been used? ▼
What names are similar to Norma? ▼
What to do with Norma's data
- Norma's decade-level peak was the 1930s (72,878 total births); usage has since declined to 514 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Texas records the most Normas (27,454 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 Norma
Nearby Names Like Norma
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Norma
Compare Norma side by side: Norma vs Nora Norma vs Norah Norma vs Noreen
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Norma
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Norma: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1931)
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 Norma 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.