How Many People Are Named Erma?
An estimated 10,584 people in the United States have the first name Erma. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 72 years old, and Erma peaked in popularity in 1920 with 1,541 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Erma 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 Erma paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Erma is overwhelmingly female, 238 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- With an average bearer age of 72, Erma is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1964.
- Erma has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
10,584
About 1 in 32,384 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Female
99.6% confidence
Average Age
72
years old
Peak Year
1920
1,541 births
Total Registered
55,161
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Erma
Erma is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 55,161 total births registered, 99.6% were female.
Erma as a male name
Ranked #3,875 in 1951
5 male births in 1951
Peak: 1935 (13 births)
Erma as a female name
Ranked #7,685 in 2024
14 female births in 2024
Peak: 1920 (1,529 births)
Erma: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Erma span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 14,327 babies were registered. Erma has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Erma by Decade
How has Erma 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 | 540 | 0 | 540 | |
| 1890s | 1,895 | 0 | 1,895 | |
| 1900s | 3,623 | 0 | 3,623 | |
| 1910s | 11,015 | 62 | 10,953 | |
| 1920s | 14,327 | 67 | 14,260 | |
| 1930s | 9,778 | 77 | 9,701 | |
| 1940s | 6,582 | 27 | 6,555 | |
| 1950s | 3,921 | 5 | 3,916 | |
| 1960s | 1,719 | 0 | 1,719 | |
| 1970s | 639 | 0 | 639 | |
| 1980s | 385 | 0 | 385 | |
| 1990s | 235 | 0 | 235 | |
| 2000s | 224 | 0 | 224 | |
| 2010s | 179 | 0 | 179 | |
| 2020s | 99 | 0 | 99 | |
Erma by State
Birth registrations for Erma span all 46 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio. The lowest are in New Hampshire, Vermont, Wyoming. On average, about 1,001 Ermas were registered per state.
Erma + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Erma as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Erma
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
Erma: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Erma?
We estimate approximately 10,584 people named Erma 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 32,384 Americans share this first name.
Is Erma a common name?
Erma is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 97.8% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 55,161 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Erma most popular?
Erma reached peak popularity in 1920, when 1,541 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Erma is approximately 72 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Erma a female name?
Erma is predominantly female. 99.6% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Erma Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Erma Smith, Erma Johnson, Erma 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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