View Message

It's okay. It's not my favorite but I don't hate it.

---

I don't know about England but in the US some people would probably view it as an old person's name and others will view it as a fresh again retro name.

---

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I love Alma. It's sweet, and I think it would be very refreshing on a little baby or child.

Old is the new young, remember! It sounds pretty, and though it started as a reference to a battle, in today's world most people would neither know nor care.

For me, it's totally usable, because I've never met one. At least in my area, it's so uncommon that she'd likely be the only one people would ever come across. Personally, I love Alma and would definitely consider it for my own child.

It's my maternal grandmothers fn. I'm not a huge fan of it, but I do think it's usable.

I have a great aunt (b. 1935) named Alma Audrey, and I've always admired her name. Alma has such a sweet sound and seems so calm and intelligent.

---

Alma does have a tinge of "old lady" to her, but it won't surprise me at all if it's being rediscovered today, à la Hazel, Estelle, and Vivian. I think it's usable.

---

If anyone's interested, here's Alma Audrey's sibset, all born mid-to-late 1920s to mid-to-late 1930s:

---

Vivian Ola
Rodney James
Frances June
Norman Edward
Alma Audrey
Mary Ann, "Petunia"

---

A lot of these wouldn't look out of place on a hipster BA of today.

It's nice and quite pretty. I tend to prefer Alba, but Alma is nice. I don't think it sounds old, but perhaps a little simple or plain, It's definitely usable though.

I approve

I think it's lovely and absolutely usable! I know beautiful, twenty-year-old twin sisters named Olivia and Alma (they're Polynesian and Filipina, for the record).

Absolutely! It's a cute name. Here in Sweden it's very popular right now. When I was a child in the 80's-90's, only old ladies were called Alma.

Normally, when I reply to an opinions post, I don't read the other opinions until after I've posted my own, because I don't want to be influenced by them. In this case, I initially wasn't going to respond, so I did go ahead and read the previous replies. So I know that they've all except one have been favorable. So I changed my mind and decided to reply just for the sake of giving an opposing viewpoint.

---

I'm older than most people here, so certain names that were popular from the 1880s to about the 1930s have a different image for me than they do for younger people, because I'm old enough to remember the old ladies who had these names and younger people aren't. Therefore, the names sound fresh and cute and new to younger people, but to me they still scream "old lady". But I've tried to shake that off and I've been able to do that for certain names such as Mabel, Gladys, and Hazel, even Agnes to an extent.

---

Alma is one for which I just can't shake the "frumpy old lady" image. All I can think of when I hear it is a frumpy old lady. It doesn't sound pretty to me and it doesn't look pretty, either. One of those names that I can't figure out why it was ever popular.

---

I think that at this time, it's still considered an old person's name, at least in America. Not sure about England because I couldn't find popularity statistics there. Has it been gaining popularity in England? Then it might be on its way to not being an old person's name. If it isn't, then it's still an old person's name, which may or may not change. If you think that being an old person's name renders a name unusable, and if Alma is presently unpopular in England, then I'd say (for you) that it's unusable.

My mother has a friend named Alma, so this is my mother's generation of names in my opinion.

I'm surprised it's not rising.

---

It's got a very "in" sound to it and I've seen it pop up on a few boards.

---

Personally, I love it. It's meanings - nourishing, the soul - are awesome, it has a lovely and rich sound to it. I slightly prefer Alba but not by much.

I've always like Alma and I feel in another few years it might start to take off. I've never met an Alma but it truly is beautiful. Yes it comes across as old ladyish like Ethel and Walter, but I think that's all part of the charm.

---

I can definitely see it on a little girl

It's beautiful

---

It is easy to pronounce. It looks pretty written down. It has a good meaning.
It does seem like a retro name, but it is very usable. Especially with little Hazels and Hatties running around. Thumbs up for Alma!