Given name & surname
Norma
“a man from the north”
Norma is a feminine form of Norman. One English interpretation is “a man from the north.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Norma is a feminine form of Norman. One English interpretation is “a man from the north.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Norma is a feminine form of Norman. An origin associated with Norman is Germanic.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In English usage, Norma is a feminine form of Norman.
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
Norma through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 279,349
- 1,278 boys · 278,071 girls
- Most popular year
- 1931
- 8,796 babies
- 2025
- 95
- #2,012 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +10%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 95 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 2,012 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 10.3% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 8,759 in 1931. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (14). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 197,653 as a first name in 2020; a sample rank of No. 61,532 among surnames in 1990.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Norma’s family of names
Norma is a feminine form of Norman. Norma has a related form in Nora. In Greek usage, Norma is a transliteration of Νόρμα.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
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.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Norma
- Marilyn MonroeAmerican actress and model (1926–1962)
- Peggy LeeAmerican singer (1920–2002)
- Norma AleandroArgentine actressborn 1936
- Norma TalmadgeAmerican actress and film producer (1894–1957)
- Norma CappagliArgentine Miss World 1960 (1939–2020)
- Norma CruzGuatemalan human rights activistborn 1962
- Mon LaferteChilean Mexican singer-songwriterborn 1983
- Norma McCorveyplaintiff in Roe v. Wade (1947–2017)
- Norma CrokerAustralian sprinter (1934-2019)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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