Norma (given name)

Norma
Pronunciation/ˈnɔːrmə/ NOR-mə
GenderFemale
Origin
Meaning"precepts", "Norsewoman", "Norn"
Other names
Related namesNora

Norma is a female name. It is of Germanic and Romance origin.

A single instance of the name Norma is recorded 1203, where it perhaps derives from the Latin word norma, meaning "precept". The name's general usage seems to be subsequent to the 1831 debut of Vincenzo Bellini's opera Norma whose librettist Felice Romani borrowed the name (and the plot) from the recent tragedy Norma by Alexandre Soumet. Soumet's choice of name for his title character may possibly have been influenced by the name of the Germanic mythological Norns.[1][2]

The name has fluctuated in popularity over the past 100 years. It is still a very common name in the United States, but the name was most often given to babies in the 1930s, and is now seldom given.[3] More recently Norma has been used as a female equivalent of the name Norman, meaning "Norseman".[4]

  1. ^ Withycombe, E. G. (1985) [1945]. English Christian Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 230. ISBN 0192812130.
  2. ^ Tuan, Laura (2010). Che nome dare al tuo bambino (in Italian). Firenze: Giunti. p. 172. ISBN 9788841240267. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  3. ^ "Norma". Think Baby Names. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
  4. ^ Macleod, Iseabail; Freedman, Terry (1995). The Wordsworth Dictionary of First Names. Ware: Wordsworth Reference. p. 173. ISBN 1853263664. Retrieved 9 January 2017.