Velma

Where Velma comes from

Coined at the end of the 19th century, by analogy with Thelma and Wilma.
— Wiktionary's entry for Velma
  • 2 syllables
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #421 among girls — 16 babies in the first year on record.
  2. 1912
    Peak, #88
    1,403 babies named Velma — more than any year before or since.
  3. 1918
    Velma Dunn born
    diver
  4. 1932
    Velma Barfield born
    American serial killer
  5. 1955
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #338.
In the dictionary
  • A female given name originating as a coinage.
Namesakes
  • Velma Barfield · American serial killer, 1932–1984
  • Velma Dunn · diver, 1918–2007
  • Velma Middleton · American singer, 1917–1961
  • Velma Wallis · American writer, Gwich'in people, born 1960
  • Velma Caldwell Melville · American editor, writer, 1858–1924

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.