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At a Glance: Name: Alma – Meaning: nourishing, kind – Origin: Latin (disputed) – Gender: Girl – Pronunciation: AL-muh
Alma is a girl's name with an old-fashioned warmth that still feels easy to wear today, pronounced AL-muh. Many people assume it means "soul" from the Spanish or Italian word alma, but that's a mix-up with an unrelated word — the name Alma actually comes from Latin almus/alma, meaning "nourishing, kind," with Spanish/Italian alma tracing back separately to Latin anima. It's a name with real depth once you look past the popular mix-up.
Meaning & Origin of Alma
Meaning: Nourishing, kind.
Origin: Latin (disputed).
A common claim: Alma is widely believed to mean 'soul,' from the Spanish/Italian word alma. Actually: That's a folk conflation with an unrelated word — Spanish/Italian alma ('soul') comes from Latin anima, while the name Alma traces instead to Latin almus/alma, 'nourishing, kind.'
Source: Wiktionary, Wikipedia.
How to Pronounce Alma
Phonetic: AL-muh IPA: /ˈælmə/
Popularity of Alma
Alma has been given to American baby girls since at least 1880, and it once ranked as high as #51 back in 1896, with 1,243 babies given the name that year. It's far rarer now, sitting at #472 in 2024 with 653 babies — still very much in use, just at a quieter level.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration birth-name data, 1880–2024.
Make Alma Name Art
Free printable nursery art for Alma, pre-loaded below — pick a layout, palette, and font, then download a print-ready PNG.
Names With a Similar Story
Derived from shared style, era, and origin data (or, for names we have no style data for, a similar Social Security popularity trajectory) — not a hand-picked list.
FAQ
What does the name Alma mean?
Nourishing, kind. (Source: Wiktionary, https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Alma)
How do you pronounce Alma?
Alma is pronounced AL-muh (IPA: /ˈælmə/).
Is Alma a popular name right now?
Alma peaked at #51 in 1896 and is ranked #472 as of 2024. (U.S. Social Security Administration data, 1880–2024.)
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