I can understand why some may dislike the name, as it's old-fashioned. However, I think that the name Irma is an underused gem, and wonderful alternative to Emma. I love how it has long history, is well-known internationally, and especially the meaning. This short, sweet-sounding name is one that I haven't been able to shake for about three years now.
Also Romansh: Source: "Vornamen in der Schweiz. Prénoms en Suisse. I nomi in Svizzera. Prenoms in Svizra" (1993) published by the Association of Swiss registrars Https://sursassiala.ch/2015/01/15/familienforschung/ Https://www.portraitarchiv.ch/portrait?page=53 Http://www.annalas.ch/persunas/display/q:irma
― Anonymous User 2/4/2023, edited 2/17/2023
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Irma Adlawan is a Filipino stage, television and film actress. She is dubbed as the “Queen of Independent Cinema” for her acting prowess and exceptional contribution to Philippine film industry.
Irma Thomas is an American singer from New Orleans. She is known as the "Soul Queen of New Orleans". In 2007, she won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album for After the Rain, her first Grammy in a career spanning over 50 years.
Actually in the early 19th century Irma was most popular in France. This was due to the 1799 novel "Irma, or the Misfortunes of a Young Orphan" by Élisabeth Guénard, which was very popular in France and among French speakers for several decades after its publication. In the 1850 United States census, first listing all free residents by name, 136 of the 174 women and girls named Irma were born either in France or in French-speaking Louisiana.
Also Swedish. It briefly made the top 100 in Sweden in 2007 and 2008. Since then, between 60 and 80 girls have been given the name each year. Name day is April 7. [noted -ed]
About the Georgian usage of Irma: according to Georgian sources, Irma is a Georgian name and therefore separate from the Germanic name Irma. Despite this, it still gets regularly confused with the Germanic name.Unfortunately, these Georgian sources neglect to provide the meaning of Irma as a Georgian name. However, if you ask me, it seems possible that Irma is a variant of the rare name ირემა (Irema), which is derived from the Georgian noun ირემი (iremi) meaning "deer".Sources used: - http://kids.ge/baby-name?id=1946 (in Georgian) - see the entry for Irma: https://web.archive.org/web/20130130192039/http://name.interes.ge/dreams.php?action=search&by=%E1%83%98&nr_page=2 (in Georgian; the entry's own page unfortunately was not archived) - see the entry for Irma: http://www.geogen.ge/ge/wsearch/4312/ (in Georgian; this website copied the complete entry of the prior link) - Irema: https://www.behindthename.com/name/irema/submitted (in English)
I personally prefer Ur-ma. Ur-ma sounds like the former name of Myanmar (Burma) and I always liked saying Burma because it rolled off the tongue so well, same thing with Ur-ma. As for Eer-ma, I don't know. I feel like Eer-ma doesn't suit "Irma" and should be spelt as "Erma" but then again you wouldn't pronounce "Ermintrude" as "Eer-min-chrood", would you? You could spell Eer-ma as Earma but you wouldn't pronounce "Earnestine" as "Eer-nes-teen", would you? Plus the Ear part would cause teasing. Tl;dr: I prefer Ur-ma over Eer-ma as the pronunciation for Irma.
Irma Gramatica (November 25, 1870 - October 24, 1962) was an Italian stage and film actress. Gramatica appeared in ten films during her career including "The Materassi Sisters" (1944). Her sisters Anna Capodaglio and Emma Gramatica were both actresses.
Irma Capece Minutolo (born 6 August 1935) is an Italian former opera singer who was one of the last companions of King Farouk I of Egypt. In recent years, she claims she was the king's last wife, and now uses the name Irma Capece Minutolo Farouk.
Irma Bandiera (1915–1944) was a Resistance fighter, member of the seventh Gruppo di azione patriottica. In 1944 she was captured, blinded, and killed. Enrico Berlinguer, of the Italian Communist Party, held her in high esteem. A villa in her native Bologna is named for her and the song Mimma e Balella relates to her.
I really like Irma.Despite the same meaning it is far better than Emma. It is not only a problem of popularity but Irma has a more mature sound than Emma which seems childish because of its too many Ms.I like the meaning and it's strong but particular sound that seems dignified without being boring.
A famous fictional bearer was Irma Ogden (played by Sandra Gough), daughter of the iconic Stan and Hilda Ogden in British television's famous long-running serial Coronation Street.
In 2018, 53 is the most common age for an American (U.S.) Irma who is registered female with the Social Security Administration. It is the 852nd most common female first name for living U.S. citizens.
― Anonymous User 10/15/2018
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Irma or Erma could be short for names beginning with Ermin- like Ermintrude or Ermingard.
Not only is Irma terribly dated, but it is currently a devastating hurricane that has actually destroyed islands in the Caribbean (Barbuda and St. Martin, off the top of my head). I foresee this name's popularity taking a permanent nosedive.
― Anonymous User 9/8/2017
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Irma is the waitress and owner of "Irma's Diner", a diner occasionally visited by Jon and Garfield. Irma is a model waitress, when she isn't abusing her customers or shaving her legs at the counter. But then the food isn't much either. Irma is often shown to be behaving oddly, for instance, her idea of a "Chicken Surprise" is putting on a chicken mask and yelling "SURPRISE!" Irma is not particularly intelligent either, for instance, in one strip, Jon is deciding what to eat and decides to have the same thing the man next to him is eating, "I'll have what he's having", Irma replies by sliding the man's meal directly in front of Jon. Another example is Jon tells Irma that his potato is bad and she begins "Spanking" it. In another strip, Jon asked Irma why there was a hair in his soup. Irma replies by asking him how he knows that it is not one of his. Jon pulls out the rest of the hair and it turns out that there is a red roller stuck to the hair. He says to Irma that he uses smaller rollers. Jim Davis revealed in Garfield at 25 that he borrowed Irma's name, but not her personality, from his aunt.
Irma is a character from the comedy radio program, My Friend Irma. It was so popular it also became a television program, a comic strip, a comic book and 2 Paramount movies, the first being the film debut of the comedy team Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Marie Wilson portrayed Irma in radio, television and movies.
I like it pronounced eer-ma. Ur-ma is kind of ugly.
― Anonymous User 1/28/2013
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The name Irma is on the 2017 storm name list. Starting in 2017, Irma will be used, replacing the name Irene, which was retired after Hurricane Irene in 2011.
― Anonymous User 8/18/2012
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This is what my friend calls me. It sounds like my real name, Emma.
Actually, this is my grandfather's name, though he pronounces it EAR-ma. I am not sure where this comes from. Still, this name in English sounds like it belongs to an old woman.
― Anonymous User 7/24/2010
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Actually it is pronounced IRR-mah (it might sound almost like Ür-mah). This my grandma's name. We live in Germany.
I know a young woman whose given name is Irmela, a diminutive of Irma. Her German father pronounces it IR-me-la, and her English mother (and all her friends) say ER-me-la.
This isn't right. In German we pronounce it 'ürmah', the 'i' has nearly no sound.
― Anonymous User 8/29/2009
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Irma Grese was a Nazi and a concentration camp guard. She was probably one of the most well-known female Nazis. She was quite cruel to inmates, and has thus kind of ruined the name for me.
This name sounds horrible in English, but Europeans pronounce it in a bearable way (aside from the Brits, of course, ha ha). It's a bit of a grandmother name, but it's not as bad as Elma and Alma for some reason, despite the two having a softer sound. Certainly not a name I'd use for my daughter, but bearable if pronounced the non-English way.
Irma is also Spanish in usage. In this language it is sometimes confused with Inma (short form of Inmaculada). They are different names - while Inma (Inmaculada) is Latin, Irma is Germanic, and Inma is a short form of a name, not Irma.