MEANING & HISTORY
What does Elma mean?
Elma is commonly explained as a familiar form of Wilhelmina or Italian Guglielma, in the William family. Other recorded formations blend Elizabeth and Mary.
These alternatives have different deeper roots. The specific familiar-name history is more reliable than assigning apple as a universal meaning merely because a similar word occurs in other languages.
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.
EnglishEtymology & source
A 19th-century creation, usually explained as a form of Wilhelmina or Italian Guglielma. It has also been recorded as a blend of Elizabeth and Mary.
A female given name originating as a coinage.
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
People with the name Elma
Public figures and other documented namesakes linked by an explicit given-name claim. This is a selection of records, not a popularity ranking.
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Elma Muros
Filipino long jumper
The record establishes the name association, not the person’s intended meaning, pronunciation or ancestry. Descriptions are attributed to Wikidata contributors (CC0).
Use in Philippine-linked records
Public-record transcription
6
eligible source records · 2001
This spelling is reported in an openly licensed transcription of elected-candidate records. This is a record count, not a birth count or national popularity measure.
OpenHalalan / COMELEC ↗Wikidata
1
distinct person records with an explicit given-name claim
Community-edited coverage, not a census or birth registry. Examples: Elma Muros
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Elma 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 Elma
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
- Alma♀Nourishing or kind in the Latin interpretation
- Delma·Familiar form of Adelma or Fidelma
- Elda♀Battle, through the Hilda name family
- Ella♀Short form associated with Eleanor, Ellen and -ella names
- Elmar·Adelmar or Egilmar formation in German usage
- Elmo♂Italian short form of Erasmo; beloved
- Elsa♀German short form of Elisabeth
- Selma♀European name with several routes; Turkish form of Salma
What rhymes with Elma?
No dictionary-confirmed rhyme match is available for this spelling in the current catalogue.
Explore Elma further
Follow the sources
- OpenHalalan — pinned 2001 COMELEC transcription (opens in a new tab)
Source-reported given-name form in a row with a separate explicit middle initial; ODbL-1.0.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- Wikidata given-name item Q11857524 — Elma (opens in a new tab)
Given-name identity, native labels, language associations and explicit class where present; not lexical meaning or population frequency.
- Wikidata — Elma Muros (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q11857524 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wiktionary contributors — Elma (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Wiktionary: Elma (opens in a new tab)
Personal-name formation and etymological relationships; imported dictionary account consulted.
- Wiktionary: William (Tagalog) (opens in a new tab)
Consulted underlying source-name etymology supporting the stated formation or root.
- Wiktionary: William (Cebuano) (opens in a new tab)
Consulted underlying source-name etymology supporting the stated formation or root.
- Wiktionary: William (English) (opens in a new tab)
Consulted underlying source-name etymology supporting the stated formation or root.
- Wiktionary: William (Spanish) (opens in a new tab)
Consulted underlying source-name etymology supporting the stated formation or root.