Meaning of the nameZulma
- Female
- Zul-ma
Zulma is a female name of debated origin: the Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil considers it obscure, and Behind the Name gives it as a variant of Zulema.
Meaning
The meaning of Zulma is not known for certain. The sources consulted give no settled meaning for it, so we give none; below are the origin of the spelling and the official figures.
- People (2022)
- 2,484
- Rank in Brazil
- #4,438
- Median age
- 67 years
- 2010 Census
- 3,095
- people
Zulma in the 2022 Census
People with the first name Zulma, by the decade they were born. In the chart, 70 = the 1970s and 20+ = 2020 to 2022. The largest group was born in the 1950s (760 people).
2,467 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 Zulma is most common
States with the highest share of people named Zulma in the population, in the 2022 Census.
- Santa Catarina 0.009%
- Rio Grande do Sul 0.006%
- Minas Gerais 0.002%
- Paraná 0.001%
- São Paulo 0.001%
All states
| State | People | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| Santa Catarina | 664 | 0.009% |
| Rio Grande do Sul | 658 | 0.006% |
| Minas Gerais | 402 | 0.002% |
| São Paulo | 218 | 0.001% |
| Paraná | 122 | 0.001% |
| Rio de Janeiro | 84 | 0.001% |
| Goiás | 77 | 0.001% |
| Mato Grosso do Sul | 44 | 0.002% |
| Mato Grosso | 40 | 0.001% |
| Amazonas | 34 | 0.001% |
| Bahia | 29 | 0.000% |
| Espírito Santo | 26 | 0.001% |
| Distrito Federal | 23 | 0.001% |
| Pará | 21 | 0.000% |
States with fewer than 15 people with the name are not shown: IBGE does not publish those counts.
About the name Zulma
The Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil (Dictionary of Names in Use in Brazil), drawing on José Pedro Machado, says that Zulma perhaps entered Brazilian use through French influence and that the origin of the name is obscure; it judges a link to the Arabic word zulma unlikely, since its meanings, 'darkness, gloom' and 'injustice, oppression', would not explain its use as a personal name. Behind the Name lists Zulma as a Latin American variant of Zulema, which would probably be the feminine form of Sulayman, the Arabic Solomon, and Wiktionary says the Spanish name Zulma perhaps comes from the Arabic sulaymān, 'Solomon'. The sources speak only of possibilities and disagree, and so the origin of Zulma is uncertain. In the 2022 Census, IBGE recorded 2,484 people named Zulma, almost all of them female and most of them born before 1970; proportionally, it is most common in Santa Catarina.
Sources
- Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil: Zulma · dicionariodenomesdobrasil.com.br · origin
- Behind the Name: Zulma · behindthename.com · origin
- Behind the Name: Zulema · behindthename.com · origin
- Wiktionary: Zulma · en.wiktionary.org · origin
Questions about the name Zulma
What does the name Zulma mean?
The meaning of Zulma is not known for certain: the sources consulted give no settled meaning for it. So we give none; the page shows the origin of the spelling and the official figures.
How many people are named Zulma in Brazil?
IBGE's 2022 Census recorded 2,484 people with the first name Zulma, which ranks it number 4,438 among the country's names. The largest group was born in the 1950s.
Is Zulma a boy's or a girl's name?
Zulma is a female name: in the 2022 Census, 2,467 women and 0 men had this name (IBGE does not publish very small counts).
In which Brazilian state is Zulma most common?
Proportionally, in Santa Catarina: 0.009% of the state's population is named Zulma (664 people), according to the 2022 Census.
Spotted a mistake? Report a correction for Zulma with a source. See the methodology.