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Alma

AHL-mah
Latin
"nurturing, soul"
Sophie Kihm
By Sophie Kihm
Updated Fri Nov 15 2024

Alma Origin and Meaning

The name Alma is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "nurturing, soul".

Alma is a somewhat solemn, soulful name that had a burst of popularity a century ago, then faded into the flowered wallpaper, and is now finding its footing once more.

In addition to being familiar via the term alma mater, Alma has many cultural ties, such as Alma Mahler, a 19th Century composer and musician and the character Alma Del Mar played by Michelle Williams in the 2005 film Brokeback Mountain. Other characters named Alma have appeared in Deadwood, The Hunger Games, American Horror Story, and The History of Love by Nicole Krauss. In the Tennessee Williams play Summer and Smoke, a character named Alma explains that her name is "Spanish for soul."

The name became fashionable in England following the Battle of Alma--named for the Russian river—during the Crimean War.

Alma is one of those surprising names that's always been on the Top 1000, but after sinking to its lowest point ever in 2011, Alma is making a comeback. Like Ella and Ada, Alma is a name appreciated for its simplicity, integrity, and—yes—soul.

# 461 in the US

Alma Rank in US Top 1000

# 196 on Nameberry

Alma Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Alma Popularity

Famous People Named Alma

  • Alma Thomas
    American painter
  • Alma Leonore Beltran
    Mexican actress
  • Alma Angela Cogan
    English pop singer
  • Alma Guillermoprieto
    Mexican journalist
  • Alma Redlinger
    Romanian painter & illustrator
  • Alma Lucy Reville
    Lady Hitchcock, English director and screenwriter; wife of director Alfred Hitchcock
  • Alma Genevieve Rubens
    American silent film actress
  • Alma Maria Mahler
    Austrian socialite; wife of composer Gustav Mahler, architect Walter Gropius, and novelist Franz Werfel
  • Alma RosĂ©
    Austrian violinist and conductor of the Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz
  • Alma Socorro MartĂ­nez (Torres)
    Mexican footballer
  • Alma Templeton Moodie
    Australian violinist
  • (Alma) Andrea Meza
    Miss World Mexico 2017
  • Alma JimĂ©nez Porter (b. 2011)
    daughter of footballer Iker Jimenez
  • Alma Sanz (b. 2014)
    daughter of singer Alejandro Sanz
  • Alma Versano (b. 2011)
    daughter of actress Gal Gadot and Yaron Versano
  • Alma Mascherano
    daughter of Argentine footballer Javier Mascherano
  • Alma Bay Dano (b. 2018)
    daughter of actor/writers Zoe Kazan and Paul Dano

Alma in Pop Culture

  • Alma Singer
    character in The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
  • Alma Winemiller
    main character in Tennessee Williams' Summer and Smoke
  • Alma Walker
    character on FX's American Horror Story: Asylum
  • Alma Coin
    character in The Hunger Games trilogy
  • Alma Dray
    character in film Now You See Me
  • Alma Garret
    character on TV's Deadwood
  • Alma LeFay Peregrine
    character in the Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children series by Ransom Riggs
  • Alma Wade
    character in the F.E.A.R. video game series
  • Alma Parker
    character in 1966 film The Ghost and Mr. Chicken
  • Alma Halliwell
    character on British soap Coronation Street
  • Alma Hodge
    character on TV's Desperate Housewives
  • Alma
    a Greater Fiend from the video game Ninja Gaiden
  • Alma Montemayor
    main character in Mexican telenovela Porque el amor manda
  • Alma Beoulve
    character in video game Final Fantasy Tactics
  • Alma Jinnai
    character in anime Jewelpet Tinkle
  • Alma Pudden
    character in the St Clare book series by Enid Blyton
  • Alma
    character in animated series Doc McStuffins
  • Book of Alma
    section of the Book of Mormon
  • Alma
    a character in The Handmaid's Tale TV series