Meaning & origin
A reliable meaning for Pema 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 2001. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Pema through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 237
- 12 boys · 225 girls
- Most popular year
- 2017
- 18 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −36%
- Cooling
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 10 in 2024. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 988 as a first name in 2020; 197 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.
Pema’s family of names
In Greek usage, Pema as a surname is a transliteration of Πέμα.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: across languages.
Spellings & scripts 1
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 Pema
- Pema LingpaSaint and siddha of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism1450–1521
- Pema TsedenTibetan film director and screenwriter (1969–2023)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Pema, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.