At a glance
- U.S. rank 2025 (girls)
- #11,932 (outside the top 1,000)
- Babies in 2025 (girls)
- 7 (<0.01% of girls)
- As a boy name
- #12,008 in 2025 (5 babies)Peak #2,184 in 1915
- Peak (girls)
- #7,998 in 2003
- First recorded
- 1913 (as a boy name; 2000 as a girl name)
Meaning of Numa
Numa is a concise unisex name with layered origins: in Latin antiquity, it evokes Numa Pompilius, Rome’s second king and architect of its religious and civic institutions; in Sanskrit and Japanese, its phonetic form (NOO-mah) carries distinct cultural resonance (/ʋnma/, /ヌマ/). In the United States, Numa has seen steady, modest adoption—11 recorded newborns in 2024 (rank 939), alongside similar counts in recent years and earlier peaks such as 13 births in 2003 (rank 899). This cross-cultural choice blends classical gravitas and modern clarity, providing parents with a gender-neutral name that bridges ancient heritage and global sensibility.
How to pronounce Numa
Sanskrit
- Pronounced NOO-mah /ʋnma/
Popularity of Numa in the U.S.
Numa was the #11,932 girl name in the U.S. in 2025, with 7 babies. It peaked at #7,998 in 2003. It first appears in the records in 1913, as a boy name, and was the #12,008 boy name in 2025, with 5 babies.
- Rank among U.S. girl names (right scale, #1 at the top)
Girls year by year, 2000–2025 14 rows
| Year | Babies | Rank | vs previous year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 7 | 11,932 | ▼ 2,986 |
| 2024 | 11 | 8,946 | ▲ 6,248 |
| 2023 | 5 | 15,194 | ▼ 4,811 |
| 2022 | 9 | 10,383 | ▲ 3,081 |
| 2021 | 6 | 13,464 | back (not recorded in 2017–2020) |
| 2016 | 6 | 14,331 | back (not recorded in 2012–2015) |
| 2011 | 5 | 16,764 | ▼ 1,805 |
| 2010 | 6 | 14,959 | back (not recorded in 2008–2009) |
| 2007 | 7 | 13,924 | ▲ 3,244 |
| 2006 | 5 | 17,168 | ▼ 5,334 |
| 2005 | 8 | 11,834 | ▲ 2,345 |
| 2004 | 6 | 14,179 | ▼ 6,181 |
| 2003 | 13 | 7,998 | back (not recorded in 2001–2002) |
| 2000 | 5 | 15,031 | new |
Boys year by year, 1913–2025 24 rows
| Year | Babies | Rank | vs previous year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5 | 12,008 | ▼ 3,021 |
| 2024 | 8 | 8,987 | back (not recorded in 1978–2023) |
| 1977 | 5 | 5,845 | back (not recorded in 1956–1976) |
| 1955 | 5 | 3,886 | back (not recorded in 1953–1954) |
| 1952 | 5 | 3,734 | back (not recorded in 1946–1951) |
| 1945 | 6 | 2,996 | back (not recorded in 1940–1944) |
| 1939 | 7 | 2,829 | back (not recorded in 1938) |
| 1937 | 7 | 2,905 | back (not recorded in 1931–1936) |
| 1930 | 6 | 3,592 | ▼ 612 |
| 1929 | 8 | 2,980 | ▲ 377 |
| 1928 | 7 | 3,357 | ▲ 423 |
| 1927 | 6 | 3,780 | ▼ 1,055 |
| 1926 | 10 | 2,725 | back (not recorded in 1925) |
| 1924 | 6 | 3,867 | back (not recorded in 1923) |
| 1922 | 6 | 3,872 | ▼ 886 |
| 1921 | 9 | 2,986 | ▲ 829 |
| 1920 | 6 | 3,815 | ▼ 1,150 |
| 1919 | 10 | 2,665 | ▲ 217 |
| 1918 | 9 | 2,882 | ▼ 150 |
| 1917 | 9 | 2,732 | ▲ 445 |
| 1916 | 7 | 3,177 | ▼ 993 |
| 1915 | 12 | 2,184 | ▲ 731 |
| 1914 | 6 | 2,915 | ▼ 94 |
| 1913 | 5 | 2,821 | new |
Notable people named Numa
- Numa Pompilius was Rome's legendary second king, credited with shaping its religious traditions and calendar.
- Numa Pompilius Garfield Adams was the first African American dean of Howard University College of Medicine, serving from 1929 to 1940.
- Numa Coste was a French painter and journalist.