girls' name ★ peaked 1920

Irma

Meaning From German Irma in the nineteenth century Gender Girl Rank 2025 #3,181 Trend ↑ Rising 15%

From German Irma in the nineteenth century.

Rank 2025
#3,181
among girls · ↓589 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
50
named Irma · -26% vs 2024
How common
1 in 32,145
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1920
1,393 babies
All-time total
74,021
#463 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Irma popularity over time

74,021 babies have been named Irma since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.511.5218801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 733 – 733 73 – #197
1890s 2,407 – 2,407 241 +228% #150
1900s 3,909 – 3,909 391 +62% #141
1910s 10,461 10 10,471 1,047 +168% #137
1920s 12,237 48 12,285 1,229 +17% #164
1930s 8,517 63 8,580 858 -30% #180
1940s 7,752 38 7,790 779 -9% #223
1950s 9,431 31 9,462 946 +21% #255
1960s 7,073 28 7,101 710 -25% #300
1970s 4,029 10 4,039 404 -43% #416
1980s 2,638 19 2,657 266 -34% #559
1990s 2,213 5 2,218 222 -17% #683
2000s 1,348 – 1,348 135 -39% #1,206
2010s 636 – 636 64 -53% #2,350
2020s (to 2025) 385 – 385 64 +1% #2,510

Where Irma is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 51 0.03 outside top 500
2027 53 0.03 outside top 500
2028 54 0.03 outside top 500
2029 54 0.03 outside top 500
2030 55 0.03 outside top 500

Where Irma is most popular

Girls named Irma per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.039 per 1,000. Strongest in Texas, California, and North Carolina.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Irma born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Texas 60 0.075 +92%
California 51 0.061 +56%
North Carolina 5 0.022 -44%
Illinois 5 0.022 -44%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Florida – – –
Georgia – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Michigan – – –
Minnesota – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
New York – – –
Ohio – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Pennsylvania – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Tennessee – – –
Utah – – –
Virginia – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
Wisconsin – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Irma

Irma is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #3,181 in 2025 with 50 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 74,021 American babies have been named Irma. Its peak came in 1920, when 1,393 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1920s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Irma stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Irma?

The median living Irma is about 64 years old; half are between 49 and 75. An estimated 33 thousand people named Irma are alive in the United States today.

median 64 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Irma year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 50 #3,181 – –
2024 68 #2,592 – –
2023 68 #2,600 – –
2022 70 #2,539 – –
2021 60 #2,835 – –
2020 69 #2,510 – –
2019 44 #3,524 – –
2018 52 #3,130 – –
2017 71 #2,521 – –
2016 71 #2,526 – –
2015 67 #2,663 – –
2014 67 #2,626 – –
2013 48 #3,339 – –
2012 63 #2,784 – –
2011 72 #2,518 – –
2010 81 #2,350 – –
2009 97 #2,093 – –
2008 111 #1,906 – –
2007 106 #1,946 – –
2006 129 #1,645 – –
2005 119 #1,676 – –
2004 151 #1,383 – –
2003 156 #1,322 – –
2002 162 #1,239 – –
2001 152 #1,286 – –
2000 165 #1,206 – –
1995 197 #953 – –
1990 312 #683 5 #8,644
1985 211 #793 – –
1980 333 #559 – –
1975 429 #451 – –
1970 490 #448 – –
1965 728 #334 5 #4,157
1960 959 #300 – –
1955 949 #279 6 #3,685
1950 890 #255 – –
1945 682 #258 – –
1940 749 #223 10 #2,396
1935 837 #204 6 #3,438
1930 1,084 #180 6 #3,792
1925 1,230 #177 8 #3,266
1920 1,393 #164 – –
1915 1,310 #142 5 #4,087
1910 547 #149 – –
1905 428 #141 – –
1900 326 #168 – –
1895 247 #170 – –
1890 154 #191 – –
1885 69 #241 – –
1880 30 #285 – –

Famous people named Irma

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Irma Grese Irma Grese German war criminal and Holocaust perpetrator (1923–1945) Contemporary
  2. 2 Irma Thomas Irma Thomas American soul, rhythm and blues, and gospel singer (born 1941) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Irma, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Irma?

The median living Irma is about 64 years old. Half of all living Irmas are between 49 and 75 years old.

How many people named Irma are alive today?

An estimated 33 thousand people named Irma are alive in the United States, based on 74,021 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Irma mean?

From German Irma in the nineteenth century.

How popular is the name Irma in 2025?

Irma ranked #3,181 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 50 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Irma?

74,021 babies have been named Irma in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Irma most popular?

Irma peaked in 1920, when 1,393 newborns received the name.

Is Irma a boy or girl name?

Irma is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Irma rising or falling?

Irma has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Irma become more popular?

Irma is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 55 girls named Irma in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Irma?

Well-known people named Irma include Irma Grese (politician), Irma Thomas (singer).

Names like Irma

Names that sound and feel close to Irma: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Irma with similar names → More names starting with I →