66%RatingSave Gender Feminine Usage English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic Pronounced Pron. SEHL-mə(English) ZEHL-ma(German) [key·IPA] Meaning & HistoryExpand Links Meaning unknown, possibly a short form of Anselma. It could also have been inspired by James Macpherson's 18th-century poems, in which it is the name of Ossian's castle. Related NamesFamily Tree·Details VariantZelma(English) Same SpellingSelma 2 PopularityDetails Last ranked #190 in 2012 Belgium Last ranked #97 in 2019 Bosnia and Herzegovina Last ranked #539 in 1990 Brazil (by decade) Last ranked #49 in 2011 Denmark Last ranked #42 in 2022 Finland Last ranked #165 in 2022 France Last ranked #498 in 2020 Netherlands Last ranked #10 in 2022 Norway Last ranked #5 in 2022 Sweden Last ranked #99 in 1995 Turkey Last ranked #940 in 1956 United States People think this name isRate·Details classic natural strong refined strange serious Name DaysName Days? Estonia: December 5Finland: December 5Norway: February 21Poland: April 21Sweden: June 27 Categories black history, currently out of the US top 1000, ends in -elma, feminine forms, Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest, isograms, sculptors, Simpsons characters, Suikoden characters, top 10 in Norway, uncertain etymology