Zula vs Zulma
American parents have registered 4,450 Zulas since 1880, against 1,662 Zulmas. But in 2025 it was Zulma that was commoner, 13 babies to 5.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Zula Zulma
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 145 years in which either name was published, Zula for 83 years and Zulma for 62 years. The lead changed hands 3 times.
Side by side
| Zula | Zulma | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 4,450 | 1,662 |
| Most in one year | 127 | 52 |
| Babies in 2025 | 5 | 13 |
| Estimated living today | 550 | 1,600 |
| Median age today | 76 | 43 |
| Peak year | 1922 | 1974 |
| Best rank | 651st girls | 1,733rd girls |
| Rank in 2025 | 14,942nd | 7,885th |
| First recorded | 1880 | 1947 |
| Girls / boys | 4,450 / 0 | 1,662 / 0 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Zulas alive today are over 76; half the Zulmas are over 43. That is 33 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Where each one is strongest
- Zula Kentucky (8.3×), Mississippi (6.9×), Tennessee (5.8×)
- Zulma New York (5.8×), California (3.7×), Texas (1.6×)
How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Zula and Zulma.