Given name & surname
Palma
“a successful man”
Palma is used as a given name and a surname. One Latin interpretation is “a successful man.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Latin interpretation is “a successful man.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Latin.
How it developed
From Latin palma, from Proto-Italic *palamā, from Proto-Indo-European *pl̥h₂meh₂, from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂-, from Proto-Indo-European *pleth₂-.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1889. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Palma through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 3,574
- 0 boys · 3,574 girls
- Most popular year
- 1925
- 100 babies
- 2025
- 5
- #16,667 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. 16,667 among girls’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for girls was 100 in 1925. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,761 as a first name in 2020; 20,693 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.
Palma’s family of names
Palma has a related form in Palmira. In Greek usage, Palma is a transliteration of Πάλμα.
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.
People named Palma
- Palma il GiovaneVenetian painter (1548/50-1628)1550–1628
- Palma Bucarellifirst female Italian museum director and superintendent of 'National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art Rome' (1910–1998)
- Estela RavalArgentine singer1929–2012
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Palma, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Almeta
“one who is ambitious” · “resembling a pearl”
>99% girls
Alta
“to be elevated”
>99% girls
Alva
“one who has a fair complexion” · “a bright man”
24% boys · 76% girls
Zita
“patron of housewives and servants” · “little rose”
>99% girls
Nella
“the shining light”
>99% girls
Pauline
“a petite woman”
>99% girls
Augustina
“venerable; majestic”
>99% girls
Vita
“life”
>99% girls