Given name
Zelma
“having divine protection”
In English use, Zelma has a related form in Selma. In German use, Selma carries the interpretation “having divine protection.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In German use, Zelma carries the interpretation “having divine protection.” In English use, Zelma has a related form in Selma. In German use, Selma carries the interpretation “having divine protection.”
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is German.
How it developed
In English use, Zelma is used as a form of Selma.
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. In English use, Zelma has a related form in Selma. 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
Zelma through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 16,936
- 112 boys · 16,824 girls
- Most popular year
- 1919
- 494 babies
- 2025
- 16
- #7,128 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +18%
- Rising
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 16 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 7,128 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 18.3% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 488 in 1919. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 3,820 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.
Zelma’s family of names
In English usage, Zelma has a related form in Selma. Zelma is a form of Selma. Zelma has a related form in Zalma.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 5
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Zelma
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Zelma, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Blanche
“beautiful”
>99% girls
Geraldine
“one who rules with the spear”
>99% girls
Elma
“having God's protection”
>99% girls
Erma
“one who is complete; universal”
>99% girls
Thelma
“one who is ambitious and willful”
>99% girls
Zella
“one who resists”
>99% girls
Velma
“determined protector”
>99% girls
Lela
“night” · “a beauty of the night; born at nightfall”
>99% girls