Elma

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.

Elma

1. A female given name originating as a coinage.
2. A city in Iowa.
3. A town in New York.
4. A city in Washington.

• mela, mela-, amel, -meal, meal, alme, Lema, male-, Male, male, leam, lame, lamé, Leam, Elam, Malé, lema

Elma (genitive f, partitive [please provide])

1. a female given name, equivalent to English Elma

Elma f

1. a female given name

Matronymics

• son of Elma: Elmuson
• daughter of Elma: Elmudóttir

From the 19th century. Similar to English Elma.

• IPA^(key): /ˈelmɑ/, [ˈe̞lmɑ̝]
• Rhymes: -elmɑ
• Syllabification^(key): El‧ma
• Hyphenation^(key): El‧ma

Elma

1. a female given name
   • 1959, Väinö Linna, Täällä Pohjantähden alla 1, WSOY, published 1965, page 181:

     Kehdossa makasi juuri äskettäin pappilassa kasteella ollut tyttö, jonka nimenkin rouva muisti: Elma. Se oli hänen antamansa nimi. Vanhemmat olivat tahtoneet Sofiaa, mutta rouva oli saanut kuin saanutkin tytölle suomalaisperäisen nimen. Tosin vain siksi ettei Anttoo pitänyt asiaa millään tavoin tärkeänä.

     There was a girl just christened still lying out in the cradle, and the old lady hadn't forgotten her name: Elma, the name she had picked. The parents would've liked a Sofia, but in the end a Finnish name was picked, although just because Anttoo didn't think the matter was of any importance.

   • 1960, Kalle Päätalo, Koillismaa, Gummerus, published 1996, →ISBN, page 470:

     —Minusta Elma on mukava nimi ja...ja sinä itsekin olet niin mukava.
     —Minä olen äidille motkottanut, että kun on laittanut näin vanhanaikaisen nimen. Eikö se sinustakin ole vanhanaikainen?
     —Ei.

     —I think Elma is a lovely name and...you too are lovely.
     —I had always nagged my mother for giving me such an old-fashioned name. Don't you think it is old-fashioned?
     —I don't.

• Elma is the 312^th most common female given name in Finland, belonging to 1,574 female individuals (and as a middle name to 732 more), according to February 2023 data from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency of Finland.

• elam, mela

Elma f (genitive Elmas or Elma)

1. a female given name, equivalent to English Elma

Elma

1. (rare) a female given name

• “Elma”, in Portal suvremenih hrvatskih osobnih imena [Portal of contemporary Croatian personal names] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2018–2025