Elma

Appeared in nineteenth-century English as a blend of Elizabeth and Mary, though some lineages trace it as a feminine form of Elmo or a cousin to Alma. American parents adopted it steadily throughout the late Victorian era. It settled into the census rolls as a quiet alternative to Emma and Alma.

The name lands with the quiet thud of a heavy winter coat on a hall tree. It reads as thoroughly pre-Depression, suggesting lace curtains, hand-cranked eggbeaters, and fountain pens. Today, an Elma is far more likely to be someone's great-aunt than a preschooler. It carries the specific gravity of a name that peaked during the Wilson administration.