Ima
A feminine Japanese name meaning "present, now" or "residing within."
Name Census estimates that about 1,086 living Americans carry the first name Ima. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ima today is around 77 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ima births was 1927 (232 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ima. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Ima with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Ima is about 77 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Imas were born before 1959.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 315,612 Americans
Peak year
1927
232 babies that year
Average age
77
years old
2020 SSA rank
#14,101
Tracked since 1886
Census
Ima in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,890 people with the first name Ima, which placed it at #7,861 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#7,861
National first-name rank
People counted
1.9K
1,890 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
68.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ima
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ima is White at 68.9%. The next largest groups are Black (14.9%) and Hispanic (8.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Ima described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Ima at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.9% · 1,303
- Black or African American14.9% · 281
- Hispanic or Latino8.3% · 156
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.4% · 65
- Two or more races3.3% · 62
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 23
Popularity
Ima: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ima from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 1,939 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ima 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 Ima during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Imas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 20 states and territories. Texas, Oklahoma, Kentucky recorded the most babies named Ima, while California, New Mexico, Kansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 223 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ima
The name Ima has its roots in various ancient languages and cultures, tracing back to antiquity. One potential origin is from the Sanskrit word "Iama," meaning "Lord of the Universe" or "Divine Being." This connection suggests that the name may have been associated with spiritual or religious contexts in ancient Indian civilizations.
Another possible source is the Hebrew word "Immah," which translates to "mother" or "grandmother." In this interpretation, Ima could have been a name bestowed upon females, carrying the connotation of nurturing and maternal qualities. Some scholars also link it to the Hebrew word "Ima," meaning "with" or "beside," implying companionship or togetherness.
In ancient Egyptian mythology, the name Ima may have been derived from the goddess Imat, who was revered as the personification of fertility and renewal. This association would have given the name a symbolic significance within Egyptian culture and beliefs.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ima can be found in the ancient Sumerian literature, where it was used as a personal name for both males and females. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the oldest known literary works, a character named Ima appears as a minor figure.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Ima. Among them was Ima Pedersen (1849-1936), a Norwegian writer and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the early feminist movement in her country. Another remarkable figure was Ima Hogg (1882-1975), an American philanthropist and patron of the arts, known for her significant contributions to the preservation of historic sites and cultural institutions in Texas.
In the realm of ancient philosophy, Ima Alnairi (c. 500 BCE) was a renowned Greek philosopher and mathematician, recognized for her groundbreaking work in the field of geometry. Her treatises and theorems influenced the development of mathematical thought in the classical world.
Ima Sumac (1922-2008), a Peruvian soprano, was celebrated for her remarkable vocal range and her fusion of traditional Andean music with contemporary styles. Her unique sound and performances captivated audiences worldwide, earning her a place in the annals of music history.
Lastly, Ima Nazreen (1975-present) is a contemporary Malaysian artist and activist, renowned for her powerful installations and multimedia works that address social and environmental issues. Her thought-provoking creations have garnered international acclaim and sparked important dialogues on various global concerns.
People
Ima + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ima as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with I
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ima: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ima?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,086 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ima 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 315,612 US residents.
Is Ima a common name?
We classify Ima as "Rare". It ranks above 90.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6,799 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ima most popular?
The single biggest year for Ima was 1927, when 232 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ima is about 77 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ima in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,890 people with the name Ima, or 0.63 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,861 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Ima in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Ima?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ima leans strongly female. 1,829 people counted with this name were female (96.8%), compared with 60 male bearers (3.2%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Ima?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ima is White at 68.9%. The next largest groups are Black (14.9%) and Hispanic (8.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Ima most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ima in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.9% (1,303 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Ima in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ima a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ima 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.
Is Ima still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ima in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Ima can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many Americans are named Ima?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Ima at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.