Wilma
Wilma was given to 41 girls in 2025, #3,704 among girls’ names; 140,855 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 35,900 Americans named Wilma and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (26% of everyone recorded); the median is 78 years old and half are between 69 and 85.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Wilma by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Wilma mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Wilma is “a female given name from the Germanic languages, a contraction of Wilhelmina.”
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Wilma?
#3,704 among girls’ names, 2025
Wilma rose from #4,482 in 2015 to #3,704 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 17.9 to 25.5 per million.
4,202 babies in 1925, the peak
Wilma peaked in 1925, when 4,202 babies were given it (4,175 girls, #62 among girls’ names). The 41 births of 2025 are under 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 41 | #3,704 | 0.03 |
| 2024 | 37 | #4,033 | 0.02 |
| 2023 | 34 | #4,267 | 0.02 |
| 2022 | 43 | #3,646 | 0.03 |
| 2021 | 31 | #4,497 | 0.02 |
| 2020 | 38 | #3,837 | 0.02 |
| 2019 | 36 | #4,069 | 0.02 |
| 2018 | 42 | #3,671 | 0.02 |
| 2017 | 34 | #4,299 | 0.02 |
| 2016 | 23 | #5,779 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 32 | #4,482 | 0.02 |
| 2014 | 20 | #6,431 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 32 | #4,534 | 0.02 |
| 2012 | 25 | #5,543 | 0.01 |
| 2011 | 28 | #5,055 | 0.02 |
| 2010 | 28 | #5,098 | 0.02 |
| 2009 | 31 | #4,799 | 0.02 |
| 2008 | 27 | #5,427 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 26 | #5,516 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 23 | #5,891 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 26 | #5,105 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 29 | #4,697 | 0.02 |
| 2003 | 27 | #4,798 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 35 | #3,801 | 0.02 |
| 2001 | 29 | #4,310 | 0.02 |
| 2000 | 32 | #3,970 | 0.02 |
| 1999 | 39 | #3,308 | 0.02 |
| 1998 | 33 | #3,641 | 0.02 |
| 1997 | 36 | #3,297 | 0.02 |
| 1996 | 32 | #3,560 | 0.02 |
| 1995 | 46 | #2,679 | 0.03 |
| 1994 | 40 | #2,982 | 0.02 |
| 1993 | 47 | #2,633 | 0.03 |
| 1992 | 45 | #2,727 | 0.02 |
| 1991 | 41 | #2,878 | 0.02 |
| 1990 | 59 | #2,195 | 0.03 |
| 1989 | 54 | #2,244 | 0.03 |
| 1988 | 51 | #2,243 | 0.03 |
| 1987 | 40 | #2,568 | 0.02 |
| 1986 | 56 | #1,977 | 0.03 |
| 1985 | 51 | #2,098 | 0.03 |
| 1984 | 54 | #1,944 | 0.03 |
| 1983 | 65 | #1,699 | 0.04 |
| 1982 | 81 | #1,488 | 0.05 |
| 1981 | 78 | #1,548 | 0.05 |
| 1980 | 79 | #1,517 | 0.05 |
| 1979 | 83 | #1,460 | 0.05 |
| 1978 | 88 | #1,357 | 0.06 |
| 1977 | 82 | #1,379 | 0.05 |
| 1976 | 102 | #1,148 | 0.07 |
| 1975 | 109 | #1,082 | 0.07 |
| 1974 | 114 | #1,047 | 0.08 |
| 1973 | 130 | #940 | 0.09 |
| 1972 | 142 | #892 | 0.09 |
| 1971 | 187 | #780 | 0.11 |
| 1970 | 202 | #735 | 0.12 |
| 1969 | 249 | #631 | 0.15 |
| 1968 | 224 | #649 | 0.14 |
| 1967 | 281 | #566 | 0.17 |
| 1966 | 339 | #515 | 0.20 |
| 1965 | 396 | #477 | 0.22 |
| 1964 | 458 | #457 | 0.24 |
| 1963 | 556 | #408 | 0.29 |
| 1962 | 582 | #397 | 0.30 |
| 1961 | 717 | #357 | 0.36 |
| 1960 | 724 | #362 | 0.36 |
| 1959 | 754 | #349 | 0.37 |
| 1958 | 890 | #300 | 0.44 |
| 1957 | 986 | #283 | 0.48 |
| 1956 | 1,086 | #253 | 0.54 |
| 1955 | 1,100 | #248 | 0.56 |
| 1954 | 1,303 | #223 | 0.67 |
| 1953 | 1,435 | #207 | 0.76 |
| 1952 | 1,423 | #202 | 0.77 |
| 1951 | 1,644 | #178 | 0.91 |
| 1950 | 1,655 | #171 | 1.0 |
| 1949 | 1,726 | #167 | 1.0 |
| 1948 | 1,742 | #164 | 1.0 |
| 1947 | 1,910 | #152 | 1.1 |
| 1946 | 1,914 | #144 | 1.2 |
| 1945 | 1,890 | #128 | 1.4 |
| 1944 | 2,128 | #125 | 1.6 |
| 1943 | 2,377 | #120 | 1.7 |
| 1942 | 2,457 | #114 | 1.8 |
| 1941 | 2,427 | #106 | 2.0 |
| 1940 | 2,621 | #93 | 2.3 |
| 1939 | 2,701 | #87 | 2.5 |
| 1938 | 2,871 | #85 | 2.6 |
| 1937 | 2,977 | #80 | 2.8 |
| 1936 | 3,123 | #78 | 3.0 |
| 1935 | 3,361 | #70 | 3.2 |
| 1934 | 3,311 | #73 | 3.2 |
| 1933 | 3,417 | #66 | 3.4 |
| 1932 | 3,611 | #65 | 3.4 |
| 1931 | 3,741 | #69 | 3.5 |
| 1930 | 4,075 | #68 | 3.6 |
| 1929 | 4,007 | #66 | 3.6 |
| 1928 | 3,937 | #69 | 3.4 |
| 1927 | 4,153 | #68 | 3.5 |
| 1926 | 4,054 | #67 | 3.4 |
| 1925 | 4,175 | #62 | 3.4 |
| 1924 | 4,066 | #67 | 3.3 |
| 1923 | 3,706 | #74 | 3.1 |
| 1922 | 3,535 | #77 | 2.9 |
| 1921 | 3,824 | #72 | 3.1 |
| 1920 | 3,670 | #78 | 3.1 |
| 1919 | 3,170 | #86 | 2.8 |
| 1918 | 3,298 | #82 | 2.8 |
| 1917 | 3,071 | #82 | 2.8 |
| 1916 | 2,962 | #82 | 2.8 |
| 1915 | 2,773 | #80 | 2.8 |
| 1914 | 1,788 | #95 | 2.3 |
| 1913 | 1,469 | #92 | 2.4 |
| 1912 | 1,241 | #99 | 2.2 |
| 1911 | 914 | #102 | 2.2 |
| 1910 | 698 | #119 | 1.8 |
| 1909 | 645 | #113 | 1.9 |
| 1908 | 630 | #113 | 1.9 |
| 1907 | 525 | #125 | 1.6 |
| 1906 | 408 | #147 | 1.4 |
| 1905 | 357 | #158 | 1.2 |
| 1904 | 352 | #154 | 1.3 |
| 1903 | 293 | #168 | 1.1 |
| 1902 | 272 | #173 | 1.0 |
| 1901 | 245 | #178 | 1.0 |
| 1900 | 285 | #187 | 1.0 |
| 1899 | 235 | #181 | 1.0 |
| 1898 | 159 | #232 | 0.61 |
| 1897 | 131 | #248 | 0.56 |
| 1896 | 105 | #286 | 0.44 |
| 1895 | 99 | #281 | 0.42 |
| 1894 | 90 | #292 | 0.40 |
| 1893 | 81 | #305 | 0.38 |
| 1892 | 86 | #294 | 0.41 |
| 1891 | 59 | #331 | 0.32 |
| 1890 | 64 | #316 | 0.34 |
| 1889 | 40 | #387 | 0.22 |
| 1888 | 37 | #411 | 0.21 |
| 1887 | 22 | #488 | 0.15 |
| 1886 | 26 | #431 | 0.18 |
| 1885 | 23 | #445 | 0.17 |
| 1884 | 17 | #519 | 0.13 |
| 1883 | 18 | #464 | 0.16 |
| 1882 | 14 | #506 | 0.13 |
| 1881 | 10 | #580 | 0.11 |
| 1880 | 5 | #942 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Wilma a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Wilma has been given almost only to girls: 754 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Wilma: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Wilma, and how old are they?
35,900 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 26% of the 140,855 Americans ever recorded as Wilma. The median Wilma alive today is 78 years old; half are between 69 and 85.
The 2020 Census counted 49,398 people named Wilma (49,170 women and girls, 228 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 50,029 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 14,400 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 16,900 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 2,570 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 815 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 469 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 440 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Wilma born?
The states with the most babies named Wilma are Ohio, Missouri and Kentucky, with 19% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Missouri and Kentucky are not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio | 8,612 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Missouri | 8,392 | not ranked | 2.2× |
| Kentucky | 8,147 | not ranked | 2.3× |
| Tennessee | 7,973 | not ranked | 2.2× |
| Illinois | 7,576 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Texas | 7,012 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Indiana | 7,004 | not ranked | 2.0× |
| Oklahoma | 6,250 | not ranked | 2.3× |
| North Carolina | 5,008 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Arkansas | 4,896 | not ranked | 2.0× |
Where Wilma is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Wilma is most over-represented in Kentucky: since 1910 it was given 2.3 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Wilma with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 3 names spelled alike, given to 142,070 babies since 1880, Wilma is the most given (99% of them). In 2025 it was given to 41 of their 41 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Wilma
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Wilma and names like it
- Compare Wilma and WillmaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sWilma peaked in 1925.
- Ohio’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Wilma since 1910.
- The top names of 1925The year the most babies were named Wilma.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Wilma alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with WMost given first.