Ima

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Îmâ in MA Morocco.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 18 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Ima is also recorded as 5 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Indonesian given name15K records spelled Ima26 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, Malaysia, India, United States

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written 'Ima, Îmã, Imã, Îma, Ïmä

• Spanish given name7.9K records spelled Ima68 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Brazil, United States, France, Peru

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese, French

  Also written Imà, Ïma, Ïmâ, Ïmà, Ïmã

• a separate given name973 records spelled Ima3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, India, United Kingdom, Ethiopia

  Also written Ïma, Īma

• Khmer given name523 records spelled Ima2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in India

  Also written Íma

• Turkish given name485 records spelled Ima21 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Türkiye, Nigeria, Syria

  Also written Îmà, Ïma, Ïmă, Ïmä, Imã

54 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Ima is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, Japanese; now, the present

  as a name·Baby names, 25,350 baby names nicknames for your family, friends pets, including the top 100 names, 2,000 most popular…

• Regalo

  as a name·25,000 nombres de bebé. La mejor guía para escoger el nombre adecuado

• In Hungarian, prayer

  as a word·Etymological Dictionary of Hungarian

• In Hungarian, to commemorate; commemoration, conclave

  as a word·Etymological Dictionary of Hungarian

• In Hungarian, commemorated

  as a word·Etymological Dictionary of Hungarian

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 104 years between 1886–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Ima Shalomb. 1001st century CE wife of Eliezer ben Hurcanus, a Mishnaic sage, and sister of Rabban Gamaliel II
• Ima van Eysingab. 1881NLDutch painter (1881-1958)
• Ima Hoggb. 1882USAmerican philanthropist and arts patron (1882–1975)
• Ima Breusingb. 1886DEGerman painter (1886–1968)
• Ima Honaker Herronb. 1899literary scholar (1899-1997)
• Ima Galguénb. 1960ESSpanish singer
• Ima Garrastatxu Urbanejab. 1963ESmayor of Durango (Bizcay)
• Ima Bohushb. 1990BYBelarusian tennis player
• Mercy Ima Macjoeb. 1993NGNigerian actress
• Ima JacksonGBcommunity engaged researcher

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 370 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Ima?

We estimate roughly 2.1 thousand people bear Ima (counting its spellings and scripts) across 7 countries in our records.

In which country does Ima have the most bearers?

We estimate about 1.8 thousand people bear Ima in the United States, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled ima.

Is Ima a male or female name?

Ima is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Ima mean?

Recorded meaning: mother; Algiers