Alma
AL-mə
A short, gentle name often associated with “kind” or “good,” and in English usage also linked to the Battle of the Alma.
Meaning
The old name books give Alma a few possible roots. One excerpt glosses it as Latin and also as an Irish/Keltic word meaning “all good,” while another notes that in English it was taken up after the Battle of the Alma. In modern use, Alma is also commonly understood as a pleasant, soulful-sounding feminine name.
Origin
LatinIrishEnglishfeminine
Fun fact
In 19th-century England, some girls were reportedly named Alma after the Battle of the Alma during the Crimean War.
Confidence: mixed. Sources: History of Christian Names, Praenomina; or, the etymology of the principal Christian names of Great Britain and Ireland.