girls' name ★ peaked 1931

Norma

Gender Girl Rank 2025 #2,012 Trend ↑ Rising 13%

Coined name of an imaginary Celtic priestess in Bellini's opera Norma (1831).

Rank 2025
#2,012
among girls · ↑568 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
95
named Norma · +38% vs 2024
How common
1 in 16,919
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1931
8,796 babies
All-time total
279,349
#142 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Norma popularity over time

279,349 babies have been named Norma 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
2.557.51018801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
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 590 – 590 59 – #223
1890s 1,885 – 1,885 189 +219% #181
1900s 3,335 6 3,341 334 +77% #157
1910s 15,500 43 15,543 1,554 +365% #83
1920s 65,241 220 65,461 6,546 +321% #23
1930s 72,878 343 73,221 7,322 +12% #22
1940s 43,030 176 43,206 4,321 -41% #43
1950s 30,801 126 30,927 3,093 -28% #104
1960s 21,519 117 21,636 2,164 -30% #155
1970s 10,272 108 10,380 1,038 -52% #218
1980s 5,553 114 5,667 567 -45% #320
1990s 4,109 25 4,134 413 -27% #480
2000s 1,992 – 1,992 199 -52% #859
2010s 852 – 852 85 -57% #1,766
2020s (to 2025) 514 – 514 86 +1% #1,977

Where Norma 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 97 0.06 outside top 500
2027 98 0.06 outside top 500
2028 99 0.06 outside top 500
2029 100 0.06 outside top 500
2030 101 0.06 outside top 500

Where Norma is most popular

Girls named Norma per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.054 per 1,000. Strongest in Texas, Wisconsin, and California.

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 Norma 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 83 0.103 +91%
Wisconsin 10 0.097 +79%
California 59 0.070 +30%
Illinois 12 0.052 ≈ national
Ohio 11 0.046 -14%
Indiana 5 0.036 -34%
Virginia 5 0.029 -46%
New York 11 0.028 -49%
Florida 10 0.023 -57%
North Carolina 5 0.022 -59%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Georgia – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Michigan – – –
Minnesota – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Pennsylvania – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Tennessee – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
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 Norma

Norma is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #2,012 in 2025 with 95 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 279,349 American babies have been named Norma. Its peak came in 1931, when 8,796 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1930s.

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 Norma stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Norma?

The median living Norma is about 72 years old; half are between 60 and 83. An estimated 117 thousand people named Norma are alive in the United States today.

median 72 020406080100

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

Norma 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 95 #2,012 – –
2024 69 #2,580 – –
2023 87 #2,191 – –
2022 89 #2,153 – –
2021 99 #1,977 – –
2020 75 #2,372 – –
2019 74 #2,422 – –
2018 81 #2,267 – –
2017 81 #2,299 – –
2016 87 #2,216 – –
2015 77 #2,399 – –
2014 84 #2,252 – –
2013 86 #2,184 – –
2012 60 #2,895 – –
2011 105 #1,905 – –
2010 117 #1,766 – –
2009 126 #1,740 – –
2008 151 #1,537 – –
2007 151 #1,529 – –
2006 205 #1,187 – –
2005 194 #1,188 – –
2004 210 #1,093 – –
2003 203 #1,090 – –
2002 242 #928 – –
2001 266 #859 – –
2000 244 #900 – –
1995 456 #528 – –
1990 494 #494 8 #6,252
1985 498 #439 12 #3,741
1980 756 #320 5 #6,981
1975 1,022 #236 7 #4,649
1970 1,435 #218 17 #2,265
1965 2,049 #171 21 #1,763
1960 2,562 #162 14 #2,283
1955 2,935 #137 5 #4,228
1950 3,411 #104 15 #2,001
1945 3,603 #74 13 #1,992
1940 5,334 #43 21 #1,510
1935 6,869 #29 35 #1,118
1930 8,511 #25 40 #1,109
1925 6,941 #34 24 #1,566
1920 3,949 #69 9 #3,138
1915 1,737 #118 – –
1910 486 #159 – –
1905 311 #169 – –
1900 316 #174 – –
1895 219 #181 – –
1890 134 #207 – –
1885 51 #277 – –
1880 32 #277 – –

Famous people named Norma

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

  1. 1 Norma Shearer Norma Shearer Canadian-American actress (1902–1983) Contemporary
  2. 2 Norma Talmadge Norma Talmadge American actress (1894–1957) 19th century
  3. 3 Norma Aleandro Norma Aleandro Argentine actress (b. 1936) Contemporary
  4. 4 Norma Bengell Norma Bengell Brazilian actress (1935–2013) Contemporary
  5. 5 Norma Croker Australian sprinter (1934–2019) Contemporary
  6. 6 Norma Cruz Norma Cruz Guatemalan human rights activist b. 1962 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Norma?

The median living Norma is about 72 years old. Half of all living Normas are between 60 and 83 years old.

How many people named Norma are alive today?

An estimated 117 thousand people named Norma are alive in the United States, based on 279,349 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Norma mean?

Coined name of an imaginary Celtic priestess in Bellini's opera Norma (1831).

How popular is the name Norma in 2025?

Norma ranked #2,012 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 95 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Norma?

279,349 babies have been named Norma in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Norma most popular?

Norma peaked in 1931, when 8,796 newborns received the name.

Is Norma a boy or girl name?

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

Is the name Norma rising or falling?

Norma has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Norma become more popular?

Norma is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 101 girls named Norma 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 Norma?

Well-known people named Norma include Norma Shearer (actor), Norma Talmadge (actor), Norma Aleandro (actor).

Names like Norma

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

Compare Norma with similar names → More names starting with N →