MEANING & HISTORY
What does Anselma mean?
Anselma is documented as the feminine form of Anselm, with Cebuano recording a Spanish naming route. The older Germanic compound joins god or deity and helmet.
Helmet can carry a protective image, but protected by God is a freer interpretation rather than a literal extra clause. The specialist historical dictionary checks the two components independently. Anselma is a complete feminine form, and it should not be confused with Ansel or Ancel merely because those names share the beginning of the spelling.
Pronunciation & syllables
A dictionary pronunciation or syllable division has not been verified for this exact spelling. Use the synthetic reading as a starting point and confirm the intended pronunciation with the family.
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
CebuanoEtymology & source
a female given name from Spanish
Wiktionary: Anselma (Cebuano) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
EnglishEtymology & source
A female given name, a feminine form of Anselm.
Wiktionary: Anselma (English) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Anselma in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to Anselma
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Anselmo♂God and helmet or protection
- Angela♀Messenger; feminine form related to Angelus
- Ángela♀Feminine Angel-name form; messenger
- Angelia♀Elaborated form of Angela
- Aniela♀Messenger, through Angela
- Selma♀European name with several routes; Turkish form of Salma
- Alma♀Nourishing or kind in the Latin interpretation
- Angel♀Messenger; associated with an angel
What rhymes with Anselma?
No dictionary-confirmed rhyme match is available for this spelling in the current catalogue.
Explore Anselma further
Follow the sources
- Wiktionary contributors — Anselma (Cebuano) (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name sense and separately attributed etymology; no birth-frequency claim.
- Wiktionary contributors — Anselma (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources — Anselm (opens in a new tab)
Germanic god/deity plus helmet; distinguish Ancel.