Meaning of the nameElma
- Female
- El-ma
Elma is a feminine name created in the nineteenth century, explained as a form of Wilhelmina, of Guglielma, or of names ending in -elma.
Meaning
The meaning of Elma is not known for certain. No reliable source documents it, so we give none; below are the origin of the spelling and the official figures.
- People (2022)
- 14,440
- Rank in Brazil
- #1,328
- Median age
- 49 years
- 2010 Census
- 16,281
- people
Elma in the 2022 Census
People with the first name Elma, by the decade they were born. In the chart, 70 = the 1970s and 20+ = 2020 to 2022. The largest group was born in the 1970s (3,601 people).
14,375 women 65 men
Source: IBGE, 2022 Demographic Census, Nomes no Brasil. The census counts the first name of people alive in 2022; small counts are not published, and the first group covers everyone born before 1940. How to read these data.
Where the name Elma is most common
States with the highest share of people named Elma in the population, in the 2022 Census.
All states
| State | People | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| Bahia | 1,821 | 0.013% |
| Minas Gerais | 1,789 | 0.009% |
| São Paulo | 1,600 | 0.004% |
| Rio de Janeiro | 1,332 | 0.008% |
| Rio Grande do Sul | 1,057 | 0.010% |
| Pará | 964 | 0.012% |
| Goiás | 791 | 0.011% |
| Pernambuco | 684 | 0.008% |
| Maranhão | 544 | 0.008% |
| Paraná | 398 | 0.004% |
| Santa Catarina | 340 | 0.005% |
| Amazonas | 333 | 0.008% |
| Sergipe | 299 | 0.014% |
| Espírito Santo | 277 | 0.007% |
| Distrito Federal | 273 | 0.010% |
| Paraíba | 257 | 0.007% |
| Ceará | 245 | 0.003% |
| Mato Grosso | 240 | 0.007% |
| Rio Grande do Norte | 220 | 0.007% |
| Alagoas | 193 | 0.006% |
| Piauí | 169 | 0.005% |
| Mato Grosso do Sul | 158 | 0.006% |
| Tocantins | 150 | 0.010% |
| Rondônia | 138 | 0.009% |
| Amapá | 105 | 0.014% |
| Roraima | 37 | 0.006% |
| Acre | 26 | 0.003% |
States with fewer than 15 people with the name are not shown: IBGE does not publish those counts.
About the name Elma
In its English entry, Wiktionary describes Elma as a nineteenth-century coinage, usually explained as a form of Wilhelmina or of the Italian Guglielma, and also records a reading as a blend of Elizabeth and Mary. Behind the Name gives it as a short form of Wilhelmine or of names ending in -elma, such as Anselma; the Morfemário of the Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil (Dictionary of Names in Use in Brazil) links the ending -elma to -elmo, from Germanic helm, 'helmet, protection'. Because the explanations point to different names, the meaning of Elma is not known for certain. In the 2022 Census, IBGE recorded 14,440 people named Elma, with a median age of 49; the name is almost always female and, proportionally, most common in Amapá.
This is the most common spelling in the group; the Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil records Helma as its graphic variant.
Other spellings of Elma
| Spelling | People (2022) |
|---|---|
| Elma | 14,440 |
| Helma | 1,080 |
Sources
- Wiktionary: Elma · en.wiktionary.org · origin
- Behind the Name: Elma · behindthename.com · origin
- Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil: Morfemário · dicionariodenomesdobrasil.com.br · origin
- Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil: Elma · dicionariodenomesdobrasil.com.br · spelling
Questions about the name Elma
What does the name Elma mean?
The meaning of Elma is not known for certain: no reliable source documents it. So we give no meaning; the page shows the origin of the spelling and the official figures.
How many people are named Elma in Brazil?
IBGE's 2022 Census recorded 14,440 people with the first name Elma, which ranks it number 1,328 among the country's names. The largest group was born in the 1970s.
Is Elma a boy's or a girl's name?
Elma is a female name: in the 2022 Census, 14,375 women and 65 men had this name.
In which Brazilian state is Elma most common?
Proportionally, in Amapá: 0.014% of the state's population is named Elma (105 people), according to the 2022 Census.
What are the other spellings of Elma?
Helma. IBGE counts each spelling separately.
Spotted a mistake? Report a correction for Elma with a source. See the methodology.