Zelma
A feminine given name of uncertain origin, potentially deriving from Spanish "alma" meaning "soul".
Name Census estimates that about 2,703 living Americans carry the first name Zelma. It is a predominantly female name (99.3% of registrations). The average person named Zelma today is around 70 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zelma births was 1919 (494 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zelma. 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.
Key insights
- • Although Zelma is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 112 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • The typical person named Zelma is about 70 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Zelmas were born before 1966.
People living today
2.7K
~ 1 in 126,805 Americans
Peak year
1919
494 babies that year
Average age
70
years old
1944 SSA rank
#3,429
Tracked since 1880
Census
Zelma in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,821 people with the first name Zelma, which placed it at #4,757 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
#4,757
National first-name rank
People counted
3.8K
3,821 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
53.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zelma
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zelma is White at 53.0%. The next largest groups are Black (32.5%) and Hispanic (10.1%). 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 Zelma 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 Zelma at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White53.0% · 2,026
- Black or African American32.5% · 1,243
- Hispanic or Latino10.1% · 387
- Two or more races2.5% · 97
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 48
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 20
Gender
Gender distribution for Zelma
Out of the 16,919 babies given the name Zelma since 1880, 99.3% 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.
Zelma as a male name
- Ranked #3,429 in 1944
- 6 male births in 1944
- Peak: 1921 (12 births)
Zelma as a female name
- Ranked #6,893 in 2024
- 17 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1919 (488 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zelma appears almost entirely female. Of the 3,820 people counted with this name, 99.2% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Zelma: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zelma from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 4,149 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zelma 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 Zelma during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zelmas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 34 states and territories. Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma recorded the most babies named Zelma, while Wisconsin, Oregon, Maine recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 331 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zelma
The name Zelma has its origins in the Old German language, where it was derived from the root words "zal" meaning "zeal" or "ardor," and "mann" meaning "man." The name was first recorded in the 8th century CE, during the Carolingian Renaissance period in Western Europe.
In its earliest form, the name was spelled "Zalmann" or "Zalmanna," and it was commonly used among the Frankish and Germanic tribes inhabiting the regions that now encompass parts of modern-day Germany, France, and the Benelux countries. The name's meaning was associated with qualities such as enthusiasm, passion, and fervor, which were highly valued in the warrior culture of the time.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Zelma can be found in the Annales Regni Francorum, a historical chronicle of the Carolingian dynasty, which mentions a nobleman named Zelma who participated in a military campaign against the Avars in the late 8th century.
As the name spread across Europe, it underwent various spelling variations, including Zelma, Zelmo, and Zelmer. In the 12th century, a Benedictine monk named Zelma from the Abbey of St. Gall in modern-day Switzerland was renowned for his scholarly contributions to the field of theology.
During the Renaissance period, the name Zelma gained prominence in Italy, where it was associated with the humanist movement. One notable figure was Zelma Piccolomini (1423-1490), an Italian scholar and diplomat who served as the bishop of Siena and played a significant role in the Council of Basel.
In the 17th century, Zelma Delille (1638-1713) was a French playwright and poet who gained recognition for her works in the classical tradition. Her plays were performed at the renowned Comédie-Française in Paris.
Another notable figure was Zelma von Arnim (1785-1859), a German writer and member of the Prussian nobility. She was part of the Romantic movement and is remembered for her contributions to German literature, particularly her novels and correspondence with prominent intellectuals of the time.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the name Zelma, demonstrating its enduring presence across various cultures and time periods, while carrying the essence of its original meaning rooted in passion and enthusiasm.
People
Zelma + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zelma as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Z
Other first names starting with Z with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Zelma: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zelma?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,703 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zelma 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 126,805 US residents.
Is Zelma a common name?
We classify Zelma as "Rare". It ranks above 94.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 16,919 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zelma most popular?
The single biggest year for Zelma was 1919, when 494 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zelma is about 70 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zelma in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,821 people with the name Zelma, or 1.27 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,757 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 Zelma 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 Zelma?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zelma appears almost entirely female. Of the 3,820 people counted with this name, 99.2% 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 Zelma?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zelma is White at 53.0%. The next largest groups are Black (32.5%) and Hispanic (10.1%). 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 Zelma most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Zelma in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.0% (2,026 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 Zelma in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zelma a female name?
Yes, 99.3% of people registered as Zelma 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 Zelma still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zelma 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 Zelma 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 have the name Zelma?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Zelma, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.