Meaning & origin
A reliable meaning for Mama isn’t established in our sources yet. Rather than guess, we show what is recorded: how the name is used, how often, and the names it’s connected to.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1996. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Mama through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 65
- 0 boys · 65 girls
- Most popular year
- 2017
- 8 babies
- 2025
- 5
- #16,397 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 5 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 16,397 among girls’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for girls was 8 in 2017. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 5,267 as a first name in 2020; 627 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Mama’s family of names
In Greek usage, Mama as a surname is a transliteration of Μαμά. In Japanese usage, Mama is a Roman-alphabet rendering of 侭.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Mama
- Mama BaldéGuinea-Bissauan footballerborn 1995
- Mama Fatima SinghatehGambian lawyer, judge, and politicianborn 1950
- Mama KeïtaGuinean film directorborn 1956
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Mama, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.