Pema
Torn between Pema and another name? Compare them side by side →
Meaning
lotus; famously borne by Queen Jetsun Pema of Bhutan
The story
Pema is the Tibetan word for lotus, from the Sanskrit padma, and in Buddhist thought the lotus is the great emblem of purity rising unstained from muddy water, which makes this less a name than a small prayer. Across Tibet and Bhutan it is given to daughters and sons alike. Its most visible bearer today is Queen Jetsun Pema of Bhutan, who married King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck in 2011 at twenty-one, becoming one of the youngest queens in the world, and who has since become the serene, modern face of the small Himalayan kingdom, often photographed in the bright woven kira of Bhutanese dress. In the United States Pema is a genuine rarity, present only as the faintest recent trace in the records, a soft two-syllable name that carries a whole philosophy and a queen inside it.
How popular is Pema around the world?
In the United States, 55 babies were named Pema between 2020 and 2025.
Pema is on the official records of the United States.
United States
1 in 400,000
In the United States, 55 babies were named Pema between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Pema has stayed rare in US records the whole time: no peak decade to name.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Argentina
last on record 2018
Pema is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Austria
last on record 2021
Pema 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)
Canada
last on record 2020
Pema 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)
England and Wales
last on record 2009
Pema is not on the 2025 record for England and Wales, where spellings under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Puerto Rico, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the South Australia record for 1944 to 2017: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Pema
Most people given the name Pema in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Pema deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Pema 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 Pema fits with your family’s names and surname.
Does Pema fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Pema to your family’s tree →