Given name & surname
Zalma
“having divine protection”
Zalma is a variant of Zelma. In German use, Zelma carries the interpretation “having divine protection.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Zalma is a variant of Zelma. In German use, Zelma carries the interpretation “having divine protection.”
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1997. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Zalma connects to the Selma name family through Zelma. The history of Selma gives this family its wider story. Selma is the name of Ossian’s castle in James Macpherson’s poems. Enthusiasm for that literary world probably helped the name find use in Germany and Scandinavia, although its precise linguistic origin is uncertain.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Zalma through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 89
- 0 boys · 89 girls
- Most popular year
- 1997
- 14 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 6 in 2013. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 130 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.
Zalma’s family of names
Zalma has a related form in Zelma. In Greek usage, Zalma as a surname is a transliteration of Ζάλμα. In Greek usage, Zalma as a surname is a transliteration of Ζαλμά.
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.
Similar names
If you love Zalma, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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