The story behind Irma
From German Irma in the nineteenth century. Short form of Germanic names beginning with irm(en)-, erm(en) "whole, entire", from Proto-Germanic *ermunaz. Cognate with English Emma.
Other language forms and explanations (3)
Dutch entry
Borrowed from German Irma.
Finnish entry
From German Irma in the 19th century.
Slovak entry
Derived from German Irma.
Pronunciation
US English (ARPAbet): ER1 M AH0
Regional pronunciation variants
- Dutch: /ˈɪr.maː/
- Finnish: /ˈirmɑ/
- Finnish: [ˈirmɑ̝]
- Slovak: /irma/
- Slovak: [ˈirma]
This is a US English dictionary reading of the spelling; personal pronunciations may differ. Digits mark stress: 0 is unstressed, 1 is primary, 2 is secondary. Pronunciation source and notation.
Popularity
Irma ranked #3181 in US for 2025.
Source: SSA national baby names
Names Similar to Irma
Ida
Short form of obsolete names beginning with Germanic īd "work", used for both sexes in medieval England. It was revived in the 19th century, partly mistaken for a Greek name,…
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Iida
19th century phonetic rendering of Swedish Ida, from German Ida.
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Ada
Short form of Germanic names beginning with adal (“noble”), such as Adelaide. Also Latinized form of Hebrew Adah. The programming language takes its name from Ada Lovelace. a…
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Ava
A female given name from Hebrew, a variant of Eva.
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Elsa
From German Elsa, contraction of Elisabeth, occasionally used in English after its appearance in Wagner's opera Lohengrin (1847). From Swedish Elsa, short for Elisabet and its…
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Emma
Brought to England by the Normans; short form of compound given names beginning with a Frankish prototheme Ermin- or Irmin- "entire", from Proto-Germanic *ermunaz. From German…
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Middle Names for Irma
Bo
Either borrowed from modern Danish Bo or Swedish Bo, or a spelling variant of the male given name Beau. From Old Norse Búi (“dweller, long-time resident”), originally a…
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 1 syllable
- Ending
- ends O
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Guy
From Old French Gui, from a Frankish form of Proto-West Germanic *Widō (compare Old Dutch Wido), a short form of names beginning with the element *widu (“wood”), from…
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 1 syllable
- Ending
- ends Y
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Kai
Taken into regular use in the 1990s, with earlier popularity peaks in Scandinavia and Germany. The medieval Danish Kaj is possibly of Roman origin, Latinized as Caius, like the…
- Gender
- mixed
- Syllables
- 1 syllable
- Ending
- ends I
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Sibling Names for Irma
Adel
Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *aþalaz. The female name is a rare variant of Adele. The surname is borrowed from German Adel. Variant of Adil, from Arabic عَادِل (ʕādil).
- Gender
- mixed
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends L
- compatible short style
- shared origin connection
Anne
From French Anne (“Ann”), from Late Latin Anna chiefly in reference to St Anne the apocryphal mother of Mary mother of Jesus but appearing in the Vulgate in reference to Anna…
- Gender
- mixed
- Syllables
- 1 syllable
- Ending
- ends E
- compatible short style
- shared origin connection
Arne
For the given name, a short form of Old Norse compound names beginning with arn- (“eagle”).
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 1 syllable
- Ending
- ends E
- compatible short style
- shared origin connection