Velma is a girl name with a classic feel, drawn from real birth records. Below you'll find what Velma means and where it comes from, plus how many babies have been named Velma across the United States, UK, Ireland and New Zealand, how popular Velma has been over the decades, and the year it peaked.
Velma is a girl name of Germanic origin meaning “resolute protector”. Probably an altered form of Wilhelmina.
| Country | Births on record |
|---|---|
| United States since 1880 | 87,202 births |
| Ireland since 1964 | 3 births |
Counts come from official national birth-registration statistics: U.S. Social Security Administration, England & Wales (Office for National Statistics), Scotland (National Records of Scotland), Northern Ireland (NISRA), Ireland (Central Statistics Office) and New Zealand (Dept. of Internal Affairs). Coverage spans differ, so totals aren't directly comparable across countries.
Babies named Velma per year, United States (1880 to 2025). United States peaked in 1921 (2,613/yr) · Ireland peaked in 1975 (3/yr).
Velma has been a fairly common baby name in the United States. It was most common in 1921, when it ranked #183 nationally (given to 2,613 babies that year), and a popular choice in the 1920s.
Vilma · Valma · Felma · Velmo · Viliam
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