Norma

Meaning of Norma

Norma began life as a scholarly Latin word—“norma,” the mason’s square that establishes a straight line—before Felice Romani borrowed it for Bellini’s 1831 opera and wrapped it in tragedy, moonlit groves, and bel canto fire. From that theatrical debut the name traveled west, enjoying a golden age in the United States between the Great Depression and the early 1960s, when Hollywood’s Norma Shearer and the steel-willed heroine of “Norma Rae” kept it in the limelight; afterward its ranking slipped steadily, settling today in the high-800s, a quiet ember rather than a blazing torch. Linguistically it retains a clean, almost architectural cadence—NOR-mah in Italian, softened a shade in English—while etymologically it hints at both “standard” and, by folk association, “Norsewoman.” Like the tiled geometry of Isfahan’s mosques, Norma suggests balance and proportion: a short, symmetrical frame, vintage charm, and a hint of operatic drama, yet free of frills. Parents drawn to understated strength—and amused by a built-in mandate to “set the norm”—may find in this name a modest but enduring gem.