Given name & surname
Erma
“one who is complete; universal”
Erma is used as a given name and a surname. One German interpretation is “one who is complete; universal.”
Original GermanIrma
Meaning & origin
What it means
One German interpretation is “one who is complete; universal.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is German.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Erma through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 55,187
- 238 boys · 54,949 girls
- Most popular year
- 1920
- 1,541 babies
- 2025
- 24
- #5,292 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +20%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 24 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 5,292 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 19.5% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 1,529 in 1920. In 2025, Indiana had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (5). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 15,161 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Erma’s family of names
In English usage, Erma has a related form in Irma. In English usage, Erma has a conventional equivalent in the German form Irma. Erma has a related form in Ermelinda.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 9
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Irmavariant · English, German
- Ermmalikely variant
- Ermalindavariant
- Ermelindavariant
- Ermyntrudevariant
- Ermintrudevariant
- Ermalindevariant
- Ermelindevariant
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Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Erma
- Erma BombeckAmerican humorist and writer (1927–1996)
- Erma FranklinAmerican musician, gospel and soul singer (1938–2002)
- Erma SulistianingsihIndonesian badminton playerborn 1965
- Erma ElzyAmerican director
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Erma, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Elma
“having God's protection”
>99% girls
Velma
“determined protector”
>99% girls
Ethel
“a noble woman” · “one who is noble”
>99% girls
Bertha
“one who is famously bright and beautiful”
>99% girls
Alberta
“noble and bright” · “one who is noble and bright”
>99% girls
Delma
“a noble protector”
15% boys · 85% girls
Adell
Adell is a unisex given name from Proto-Germanic.
>99% girls
Alda
“long-lived, old; wise; an elder”
>99% girls