Norma
From the Latin word "norma" meaning rule or precept.
Name Census estimates that about 92,736 living Americans carry the first name Norma. It is a predominantly female name (99.5% of registrations). The average person named Norma today is around 67 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Norma births was 1931 (8,796 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Norma. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Norma with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Norma is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 1,278 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • The typical person named Norma is about 67 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Normas were born before 1969.
- • Compared to the 1930s, recent registration numbers for Norma have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
93K
~ 1 in 3,696 Americans
Peak year
1931
8,796 babies that year
Average age
67
years old
1993 SSA rank
#2,620
Tracked since 1880
Census
Norma in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 197,661 people with the first name Norma, which placed it at #281 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#281
National first-name rank
People counted
198K
197,661 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
65.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
47.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Norma
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Norma is Hispanic at 47.4%. The next largest groups are White (42.9%) and Black (5.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Norma described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Norma at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino47.4% · 93,732
- White42.9% · 84,698
- Black or African American5.6% · 11,119
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 5,019
- Two or more races1.0% · 2,061
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 1,032
Gender
Gender distribution for Norma
Out of the 279,251 babies given the name Norma since 1880, 99.5% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Norma as a male name
- Ranked #9,742 in 1993
- 5 male births in 1993
- Peak: 1932 (44 births)
Norma as a female name
- Ranked #2,620 in 2024
- 67 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1931 (8,759 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Norma appears almost entirely female. Of the 197,653 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Norma: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Norma from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 73,220 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1930s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Norma by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Norma during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Normas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. Texas, California, New York recorded the most babies named Norma, while Alaska, Nevada, Delaware recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 5,274 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Norma
The name Norma is a female given name of Latin origin, derived from the word "norma" meaning "rule" or "precept." It was initially used as a term in ancient Rome to denote a standard or pattern, often in reference to architectural or artisanal practices.
The earliest known record of Norma as a personal name dates back to the 3rd century AD, when it was mentioned in inscriptions found in the Roman catacombs. However, it is believed that the name was not widely used until several centuries later, as it gained popularity during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest notable figures bearing the name Norma was Norma of Avranches, a medieval French noblewoman and landowner who lived in the 11th century. She was known for her influential role in the governance of Avranches and its surrounding territories.
In the 12th century, Norma de Bellomonte, an English noblewoman, was recorded as the wife of William de Beaumont, Earl of Warwick. Their marriage played a significant role in consolidating power and influence within the English aristocracy of the time.
During the Renaissance period, Norma gained further prominence as a given name. Norma Pallavicino (1494-1555), an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts, was a notable figure who hosted literary gatherings and promoted the works of renowned artists and writers of her era.
In the 19th century, the name Norma was popularized by the opera "Norma" composed by Vincenzo Bellini in 1831. The opera's titular character, a Druid priestess, became a celebrated figure in the world of classical music and contributed to the wider recognition of the name.
Another notable figure was Norma Shearer (1902-1983), an American actress and Hollywood star during the Golden Age of cinema. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film "The Divorcee" (1930) and was known for her versatility in both dramatic and comedic roles.
People
Norma + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Norma as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Norma: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Norma?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 92,736 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Norma going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 3,696 US residents.
Is Norma a common name?
We classify Norma as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 279,251 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Norma most popular?
The single biggest year for Norma was 1931, when 8,796 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Norma is about 67 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Norma in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 197,661 people with the name Norma, or 65.44 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #281 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Norma in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Norma?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Norma appears almost entirely female. Of the 197,653 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Norma?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Norma is Hispanic at 47.4%. The next largest groups are White (42.9%) and Black (5.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Norma most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Norma in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.4% (93,732 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Norma in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Norma a female name?
Yes, 99.5% of people registered as Norma in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Norma still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Norma in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Norma can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Norma?
Want to know how many Americans are named Norma? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.