Jorma
A masculine Finnish name of uncertain origin and meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 54 living Americans carry the first name Jorma. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jorma today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jorma births was 1971 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jorma. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Jorma. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
54
~ 1 in 6,347,303 Americans
Peak year
1971
16 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
1980 SSA rank
#6,735
Tracked since 1916
Census
Jorma in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 139 people with the first name Jorma, which placed it at #47,200 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
#47,200
National first-name rank
People counted
139
139 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
90.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jorma
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jorma is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Jorma 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 Jorma at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.6% · 126
- Two or more races3.6% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.9% · 4
Popularity
Jorma: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jorma from the 1910s through to the 1980s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 53 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jorma 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 Jorma during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jorma
The name Jorma has its origins in the Finnish language and culture. It is derived from the Old Norse name Jörmunr, which itself is a combination of two words: jör meaning "horse" and munr meaning "protection" or "desire". The name Jorma was commonly used in Finland starting in the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jorma dates back to the 13th century. It appears in the Kalevala, a collection of Finnish folklore and epic poetry. In the Kalevala, Jorma is mentioned as the name of a brave warrior and hero. This early mention in such an important cultural text suggests that the name held significance and esteem in ancient Finnish society.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Jorma. One of the most famous was Jorma Kaukonen, an American guitarist and singer-songwriter born in 1940. He was a founding member of the influential rock band Jefferson Airplane and later formed the band Hot Tuna. His contributions to the counterculture music scene of the 1960s and 1970s have made him a legendary figure in rock music history.
Another prominent figure named Jorma was Jorma Ollila, a Finnish businessman born in 1950. He served as the CEO of Nokia Corporation from 1992 to 2006, leading the company through its rise as a global leader in mobile technology. Ollila's strategic leadership and vision played a crucial role in Nokia's success during the early days of the mobile phone revolution.
In the realm of sports, Jorma Valtonen was a Finnish long-distance runner born in 1939. He won the gold medal in the 10,000 meters event at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, setting a new world record time. Valtonen's achievement was a source of great national pride in Finland and cemented his place in the country's sporting history.
The name Jorma has also been associated with notable figures in the arts and literature. Jorma Hynninen, born in 1935, was a acclaimed Finnish baritone opera singer who performed on stages around the world. His powerful voice and dramatic performances earned him critical acclaim and a loyal following among opera enthusiasts.
While these examples highlight some of the most prominent individuals named Jorma throughout history, the name has been used across various cultures and time periods. Its origins in ancient Finnish folklore and continued use over centuries attest to its enduring cultural significance and appeal.
People
Jorma + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jorma as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jorma: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jorma?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 54 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jorma 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 6,347,303 US residents.
Is Jorma a common name?
We classify Jorma as "Very Rare". It ranks above 55.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 68 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jorma most popular?
The single biggest year for Jorma was 1971, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jorma is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jorma in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 139 people with the name Jorma, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #47,200 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 Jorma 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 Jorma?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jorma leans strongly male. 127 people counted with this name were male (93.4%), compared with 9 female bearers (6.6%). 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 Jorma?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jorma is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Jorma most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jorma in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.6% (126 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 Jorma in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jorma a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jorma in the SSA data are male. 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 Jorma still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jorma 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 Jorma 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 common is the name Jorma?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Jorma at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.