Meaning of the nameZelma
- Female
- Zel-ma
Zelma is a female name that Behind the Name records as a variant of Selma, of uncertain origin.
Meaning
The meaning of Zelma 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)
- 3,263
- Rank in Brazil
- #3,663
- Median age
- 56 years
- 2010 Census
- 3,614
- people
Zelma in the 2022 Census
People with the first name Zelma, by the decade they were born. In the chart, 70 = the 1970s and 20+ = 2020 to 2022. The largest group was born in the 1960s (840 people).
3,251 women 0 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 Zelma is most common
States with the highest share of people named Zelma in the population, in the 2022 Census.
- Alagoas 0.004%
- Goiás 0.003%
- Rio Grande do Sul 0.003%
- Santa Catarina 0.002%
- Minas Gerais 0.002%
All states
| State | People | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| São Paulo | 444 | 0.001% |
| Minas Gerais | 414 | 0.002% |
| Rio Grande do Sul | 301 | 0.003% |
| Rio de Janeiro | 260 | 0.002% |
| Bahia | 246 | 0.002% |
| Goiás | 240 | 0.003% |
| Santa Catarina | 178 | 0.002% |
| Pernambuco | 140 | 0.002% |
| Alagoas | 130 | 0.004% |
| Pará | 124 | 0.002% |
| Paraná | 123 | 0.001% |
| Distrito Federal | 76 | 0.003% |
| Espírito Santo | 75 | 0.002% |
| Maranhão | 72 | 0.001% |
| Ceará | 67 | 0.001% |
| Mato Grosso | 66 | 0.002% |
| Paraíba | 55 | 0.001% |
| Amazonas | 49 | 0.001% |
| Tocantins | 47 | 0.003% |
| Rio Grande do Norte | 46 | 0.001% |
| Mato Grosso do Sul | 31 | 0.001% |
| Sergipe | 29 | 0.001% |
| Piauí | 23 | 0.001% |
| Rondônia | 17 | 0.001% |
States with fewer than 15 people with the name are not shown: IBGE does not publish those counts.
About the name Zelma
Behind the Name, in a main entry, treats Zelma as a variant of Selma. According to the same source, the meaning of Selma is unknown: it may be a short form of Anselma or may have been inspired by Selma, the castle of Ossian in the eighteenth-century poems of James Macpherson. In the 2022 Census, IBGE recorded 3,263 people named Zelma, with a median age of 56; the largest number of records is of people born in the 1960s, and the name is almost always female. Proportionally, it is most common in Alagoas.
Sources
- Behind the Name: Zelma · behindthename.com · origin
- Behind the Name: Selma · behindthename.com · origin
Questions about the name Zelma
What does the name Zelma mean?
The meaning of Zelma 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 Zelma in Brazil?
IBGE's 2022 Census recorded 3,263 people with the first name Zelma, which ranks it number 3,663 among the country's names. The largest group was born in the 1960s.
Is Zelma a boy's or a girl's name?
Zelma is a female name: in the 2022 Census, 3,251 women and 0 men had this name (IBGE does not publish very small counts).
In which Brazilian state is Zelma most common?
Proportionally, in Alagoas: 0.004% of the state's population is named Zelma (130 people), according to the 2022 Census.
Spotted a mistake? Report a correction for Zelma with a source. See the methodology.