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Erma

girl name
Origin
Germanic
Syllables
2
Peak era
1890s/1930s
Today
▬ Steady

Torn between Erma and another name? Compare them side by side →

Meaning

variant of Irma, traditionally 'whole, universal'

Erma across languages

One shared root links 4 names across 3 languages.

Shared root: from Germanic ermen "whole, universal", begun as a short form of Ermentrude-type compounds

The constellation

ErmaEnglish · variantEmmaEnglishEmaSpanishIrmaGerman

How popular is Erma around the world?

In the United States, 124 babies were named Erma between 2020 and 2025.

Erma is on the official records of the United States, Brazil and Spain.

United States

1 in 180,000

In the United States, 124 babies were named Erma between 2020 and 2025.

peak 1890s2020s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Erma peaked in the 1890s and the 1930s in nearly equal measure.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

Brazil

1 in 1M

At the 2022 census, 150 people in Brazil were named Erma, ranked 31,103rd, with a median age of 64.
Among people named Erma living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1950s than in any other decade.

1940speak 1950s1960s

people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth

People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022

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Spain

1 in 2.2M

In Spain, 20 residents are named Erma, ranked 31,357th among women, with a mean age of 55.1 years.

Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025

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Austria

last on record 2009

Erma is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.

Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)

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Canada

last on record 1998

Erma is not on the 2024 record for Canada, where names under 5 in a year are excluded at source.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.

First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)

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Chile

last on record 2002

Erma is not on the 2021 record for Chile, where nametree keeps the spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year.

peak 19362021

share of that year’s name registrations

First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021

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Montevideo City

last on record 1949

Erma is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.

Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial

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South Australia

last on record 2002

Erma is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.

Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names

See the full list for South Australia →

Not on the record in Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico, England and Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.

Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

When you meet Erma

People given the name Erma in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1940 to 1969. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.

Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.

Names that fit alongside Erma

Harriet Geraldine Roberta Louisa Adella Millicent

Keep exploring

Short names

The Erma deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Erma truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Erma fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

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