Zelma
Zelma was given to 16 girls in 2025, #7,126 among girls’ names; 16,936 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 3,080 Americans named Zelma and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (18% of everyone recorded); the median is 75 years old and half are between 65 and 84.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Zelma by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Zelma mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Zelma is “a female given name from Arabic, variant of Selma.”
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Zelma?
#7,126 among girls’ names, 2025
Zelma rose from #8,921 in 2015 to #7,126 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 7.3 to 10.0 per million.
494 babies in 1919, the peak
Zelma peaked in 1919, when 494 babies were given it (488 girls, #287 among girls’ names). The 16 births of 2025 are 3% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 16 | #7,126 | 0.01 |
| 2024 | 17 | #6,918 | 0.01 |
| 2023 | 14 | #8,047 | 0.01 |
| 2022 | 12 | #9,047 | 0.01 |
| 2021 | 12 | #8,964 | 0.01 |
| 2020 | 10 | #10,232 | 0.01 |
| 2019 | 14 | #8,128 | 0.01 |
| 2018 | 16 | #7,401 | 0.01 |
| 2017 | 7 | #14,100 | under 0.01 |
| 2016 | 13 | #8,862 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (139)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 13 | #8,921 | 0.01 |
| 2014 | 6 | #16,476 | under 0.01 |
| 2013 | 5 | #19,237 | under 0.01 |
| 2012 | 5 | #19,491 | under 0.01 |
| 2011 | 5 | #19,545 | under 0.01 |
| 2010 | 8 | #13,428 | under 0.01 |
| 2009 | 5 | #20,155 | under 0.01 |
| 2008 | 8 | #13,808 | under 0.01 |
| 2007 | 5 | #20,538 | under 0.01 |
| 2006 | 8 | #13,579 | under 0.01 |
| 2005 | 8 | #12,992 | under 0.01 |
| 2002 | 5 | #18,063 | under 0.01 |
| 2000 | 6 | #15,011 | under 0.01 |
| 1999 | 7 | #12,672 | under 0.01 |
| 1998 | 7 | #12,410 | under 0.01 |
| 1997 | 5 | #16,135 | under 0.01 |
| 1996 | 8 | #10,558 | under 0.01 |
| 1994 | 10 | #8,792 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 8 | #10,466 | under 0.01 |
| 1991 | 6 | #13,135 | under 0.01 |
| 1989 | 7 | #10,835 | under 0.01 |
| 1988 | 7 | #10,377 | under 0.01 |
| 1987 | 6 | #11,315 | under 0.01 |
| 1986 | 9 | #7,743 | 0.01 |
| 1985 | 10 | #6,951 | 0.01 |
| 1983 | 10 | #6,702 | 0.01 |
| 1982 | 8 | #8,221 | under 0.01 |
| 1981 | 14 | #5,252 | 0.01 |
| 1980 | 7 | #9,091 | under 0.01 |
| 1979 | 14 | #5,090 | 0.01 |
| 1978 | 10 | #6,382 | 0.01 |
| 1977 | 8 | #7,560 | 0.01 |
| 1976 | 12 | #5,208 | 0.01 |
| 1975 | 18 | #3,772 | 0.01 |
| 1974 | 15 | #4,225 | 0.01 |
| 1973 | 27 | #2,688 | 0.02 |
| 1972 | 17 | #3,713 | 0.01 |
| 1971 | 24 | #2,954 | 0.01 |
| 1970 | 18 | #3,575 | 0.01 |
| 1969 | 20 | #3,100 | 0.01 |
| 1968 | 28 | #2,359 | 0.02 |
| 1967 | 25 | #2,491 | 0.02 |
| 1966 | 43 | #1,735 | 0.03 |
| 1965 | 42 | #1,767 | 0.02 |
| 1964 | 44 | #1,779 | 0.02 |
| 1963 | 41 | #1,837 | 0.02 |
| 1962 | 57 | #1,494 | 0.03 |
| 1961 | 65 | #1,396 | 0.03 |
| 1960 | 62 | #1,403 | 0.03 |
| 1959 | 81 | #1,190 | 0.04 |
| 1958 | 83 | #1,171 | 0.04 |
| 1957 | 77 | #1,209 | 0.04 |
| 1956 | 96 | #1,049 | 0.05 |
| 1955 | 104 | #982 | 0.05 |
| 1954 | 120 | #876 | 0.06 |
| 1953 | 106 | #919 | 0.06 |
| 1952 | 96 | #964 | 0.05 |
| 1951 | 103 | #900 | 0.06 |
| 1950 | 120 | #792 | 0.07 |
| 1949 | 150 | #688 | 0.09 |
| 1948 | 115 | #808 | 0.07 |
| 1947 | 146 | #702 | 0.08 |
| 1946 | 143 | #670 | 0.09 |
| 1945 | 168 | #569 | 0.13 |
| 1944 | 151 | #598 | 0.11 |
| 1943 | 178 | #569 | 0.13 |
| 1942 | 181 | #553 | 0.13 |
| 1941 | 148 | #577 | 0.12 |
| 1940 | 190 | #501 | 0.17 |
| 1939 | 180 | #498 | 0.16 |
| 1938 | 194 | #477 | 0.18 |
| 1937 | 191 | #476 | 0.18 |
| 1936 | 185 | #471 | 0.18 |
| 1935 | 237 | #423 | 0.23 |
| 1934 | 272 | #393 | 0.26 |
| 1933 | 230 | #423 | 0.23 |
| 1932 | 303 | #368 | 0.28 |
| 1931 | 284 | #387 | 0.27 |
| 1930 | 370 | #338 | 0.33 |
| 1929 | 347 | #351 | 0.31 |
| 1928 | 371 | #353 | 0.32 |
| 1927 | 382 | #340 | 0.32 |
| 1926 | 356 | #354 | 0.30 |
| 1925 | 431 | #322 | 0.35 |
| 1924 | 417 | #330 | 0.33 |
| 1923 | 447 | #306 | 0.37 |
| 1922 | 467 | #296 | 0.39 |
| 1921 | 445 | #310 | 0.36 |
| 1920 | 448 | #308 | 0.37 |
| 1919 | 488 | #287 | 0.43 |
| 1918 | 471 | #294 | 0.41 |
| 1917 | 477 | #283 | 0.44 |
| 1916 | 466 | #276 | 0.45 |
| 1915 | 487 | #266 | 0.49 |
| 1914 | 373 | #271 | 0.49 |
| 1913 | 342 | #252 | 0.55 |
| 1912 | 307 | #255 | 0.55 |
| 1911 | 268 | #240 | 0.64 |
| 1910 | 220 | #259 | 0.55 |
| 1909 | 240 | #233 | 0.69 |
| 1908 | 199 | #243 | 0.60 |
| 1907 | 212 | #227 | 0.67 |
| 1906 | 188 | #233 | 0.64 |
| 1905 | 161 | #259 | 0.55 |
| 1904 | 198 | #218 | 0.72 |
| 1903 | 176 | #225 | 0.67 |
| 1902 | 189 | #216 | 0.72 |
| 1901 | 127 | #256 | 0.53 |
| 1900 | 131 | #287 | 0.44 |
| 1899 | 120 | #261 | 0.51 |
| 1898 | 104 | #309 | 0.40 |
| 1897 | 104 | #277 | 0.44 |
| 1896 | 82 | #323 | 0.34 |
| 1895 | 80 | #322 | 0.34 |
| 1894 | 77 | #321 | 0.35 |
| 1893 | 57 | #359 | 0.27 |
| 1892 | 56 | #357 | 0.26 |
| 1891 | 63 | #319 | 0.34 |
| 1890 | 52 | #357 | 0.27 |
| 1889 | 43 | #370 | 0.24 |
| 1888 | 37 | #412 | 0.21 |
| 1887 | 27 | #434 | 0.18 |
| 1886 | 32 | #386 | 0.22 |
| 1885 | 18 | #519 | 0.14 |
| 1884 | 29 | #376 | 0.22 |
| 1883 | 16 | #498 | 0.14 |
| 1882 | 21 | #405 | 0.19 |
| 1881 | 17 | #417 | 0.18 |
| 1880 | 19 | #387 | 0.21 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Zelma a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Zelma has been given almost only to girls: 112 boys in 139 years of records.
Girls and boys named Zelma: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Zelma, and how old are they?
3,080 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 18% of the 16,936 Americans ever recorded as Zelma. The median Zelma alive today is 75 years old; half are between 65 and 84.
The 2020 Census counted 3,820 people named Zelma (3,791 women and girls, 29 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 4,152 born in the U.S. The Census count is 8% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 1,040 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,360 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 301 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 100 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 81 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 154 |
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 Zelma born?
The states with the most babies named Zelma are Texas, Kentucky and Oklahoma, with 27% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Kentucky and Oklahoma are not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 1,425 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| Kentucky | 913 | not ranked | 2.5× |
| Oklahoma | 737 | not ranked | 2.5× |
| Tennessee | 693 | not ranked | 1.9× |
| Missouri | 667 | not ranked | 1.7× |
| Arkansas | 653 | not ranked | 2.6× |
| North Carolina | 612 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Georgia | 498 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 489 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Ohio | 484 | not ranked | 0.7× |
Where Zelma is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Zelma is most over-represented in Arkansas: since 1910 it was given 2.6 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 Zelma with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Zelma
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 Zelma and names like it
- Compare Zelma and LossieBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sZelma peaked in 1919.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Zelma since 1910.
- The top names of 1919The year the most babies were named Zelma.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Zelma alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with ZMost given first.