How Many People Are Named Elma?
An estimated 4,275 people in the United States have the first name Elma. It is predominantly female (97.8%). The average bearer is 61 years old, and Elma peaked in popularity in 1918 with 674 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Elma as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Elma paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Elma is overwhelmingly female, 483 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
4,275
About 1 in 80,176 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Female
97.8% confidence
Average Age
61
years old
Peak Year
1918
674 births
Total Registered
22,152
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Elma
Elma is predominantly female (97.8%), though 483 male births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Elma as a male name
Ranked #3,089 in 1957
8 male births in 1957
Peak: 1916 (23 births)
Elma as a female name
Ranked #4,575 in 2024
30 female births in 2024
Peak: 1918 (659 births)
Elma: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Elma span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 5,161 babies were registered. Elma has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Elma by Decade
How has Elma tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 643 | 0 | 643 | |
| 1890s | 1,361 | 6 | 1,355 | |
| 1900s | 1,945 | 5 | 1,940 | |
| 1910s | 4,916 | 114 | 4,802 | |
| 1920s | 5,161 | 171 | 4,990 | |
| 1930s | 2,893 | 100 | 2,793 | |
| 1940s | 1,877 | 67 | 1,810 | |
| 1950s | 1,159 | 20 | 1,139 | |
| 1960s | 654 | 0 | 654 | |
| 1970s | 329 | 0 | 329 | |
| 1980s | 196 | 0 | 196 | |
| 1990s | 183 | 0 | 183 | |
| 2000s | 410 | 0 | 410 | |
| 2010s | 298 | 0 | 298 | |
| 2020s | 127 | 0 | 127 | |
Elma by State
Birth registrations for Elma span all 41 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, North Carolina, Pennsylvania. The lowest are in Wyoming, Arizona, Massachusetts. On average, about 353 Elmas were registered per state.
Elma + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Elma as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Elma
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
Elma: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elma?
We estimate approximately 4,275 people named Elma are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 80,176 Americans share this first name.
Is Elma a common name?
Elma is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 96.2% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 22,152 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Elma most popular?
Elma reached peak popularity in 1918, when 674 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Elma is approximately 61 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Elma a female name?
Elma is predominantly female. 97.8% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Elma Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Elma Smith, Elma Johnson, Elma Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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