Cuma
An Arabic name meaning "gathering" or "group".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Cuma. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Cuma today is around 91 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cuma births was 1915 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cuma. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Cuma is about 91 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Cumas were born before 1945.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Cuma. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1915
12 babies that year
Average age
91
years old
1938 SSA rank
#4,452
Tracked since 1894
Popularity
Cuma: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cuma from the 1890s through to the 1930s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 43 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1910s peak, Cuma remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cuma by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Cuma during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Cumas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Cuma
The given name Cuma finds its origins in ancient Anatolia, the region that encompasses much of modern-day Turkey. It is derived from the Luwian language, an extinct Indo-European tongue spoken in parts of Asia Minor during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age. The word "Cuma" is believed to have meant "lion" or "brave warrior" in Luwian.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the ancient city of Cyme (modern-day Aliağa, Turkey), which was founded by Greek settlers in the 8th century BC. The city's name is thought to have been derived from the Luwian word "Cuma," suggesting that the name was already in use among the local Anatolian population at the time.
In Greek mythology, there are references to a figure named Cumas, who was a seer and priestess of Apollo at the ancient Greek colony of Cumae, located near modern-day Naples, Italy. According to legend, Cumas was granted eternal life but not eternal youth, and she eventually withered away until only her voice remained.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Cuma. One of the earliest was Cuma I, a King of Kizzuwatna (a region in southeastern Anatolia) who ruled in the 15th century BC. Another was Cuma II, a King of Kizzuwatna who reigned in the 14th century BC and was a contemporary of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten.
In the field of philosophy, there was Cuma of Samos, a pre-Socratic philosopher who lived in the 5th century BC and was known for his theories on the nature of the universe and the origin of all things.
In the realm of warfare, there was Cuma, a general in the army of the Persian King Darius III, who led a contingent of troops against Alexander the Great in the Battle of Issus in 333 BC.
Finally, in the Islamic world, there was Abu Bakr Ibn Cuma, a renowned scholar and jurist who lived in present-day Iran during the 9th century AD and made significant contributions to the field of Islamic jurisprudence.
While the name Cuma has its roots in ancient Anatolia, it has managed to endure and spread to various parts of the world throughout history, carried by individuals who have left their mark in various fields, from warfare and philosophy to religion and scholarship.
People
Cuma + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cuma as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Cuma: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cuma?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cuma going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Cuma a common name?
We classify Cuma as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 131 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cuma most popular?
The single biggest year for Cuma was 1915, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cuma is about 91 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Cuma a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cuma in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.