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Carma Name Meaning, Origins & History

Carma

Pronunciation: KAR-muh

Meaning Fruit field Origin Arabic Gender Girl
GIRLS RANK
#10,257
TREND
1,020
Peak Years
1961, 1935, 1959
Lowest Years
1897, 1906, 1907
Energy Archetype
Cheerful & Expressive

Rank shows the name’s position among U.S. baby names for each gender in 2025. Trend shows how many places it rose or fell since 2024. Rank 1 is the most popular. Based on U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) data. Peak and lowest years are based on the number of girls named Carma in the available records.

Fun Facts About the Name Carma

  • More than 4 thousand babies named Carma: U.S. records list 4,168 babies given the name Carma from 1880 through 2025.

What Does the Name Carma Mean?

Carma is an English feminine given name whose derivation is not firmly settled. The two explanations most often offered point to different parent names and different meanings.

The first treats Carma as a respelling of Karma, from Sanskrit karma (कर्म), "action," "work," or "deed," built on the root kṛ, "to do" or "to make." In Hindu and Buddhist thought the word names the accumulated effect of a person's actions. On this view the meaning is "action" or "deed."

The second connects Carma with Carmen and Carmela, which go back to Mount Carmel in the Holy Land. The Hebrew Karmel (כַּרְמֶל) is commonly explained as "garden," "orchard," or "vineyard of God," from kerem ("vineyard") and el ("God"). On this view Carma is an English feminine form or variant of Carmen, with the meaning "garden."

The Latin noun carmen, "song" or "poem," is occasionally mentioned because it looks like Carma, but that is a resemblance in form, not a documented line of descent for the given name.

Carma Name History & Origins

Carma is a rare given name used mainly in English-speaking countries. It is best understood as an altered spelling of an older name, so its history depends on which parent name is taken as its source.

If the source is Karma, the route runs through the nineteenth-century spread of Sanskrit religious vocabulary in English, when terms from Hindu and Buddhist texts entered the language and the word karma became familiar to general readers. The use of Karma, and of the respelled Carma, as personal names is relatively recent.

If the source is Carmen, the route is older and European. The name comes from the Spanish title of the Virgin Mary, Nuestra Señora del Carmen, "Our Lady of Mount Carmel," a reference to Mount Carmel and to the Carmelite religious order. Devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel carried the name through Spain and Latin America, and Georges Bizet's opera Carmen (1875) gave it a wide international audience. Carma can be read as an English reshaping of Carmen with an -a ending.

Carma also occurs as a surname. Names that merely look similar, such as Carme, Carmina, and Carmela, have their own separate histories and do not by themselves show how Carma arose.

How Popular is the Name Carma?

Carma recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 1961. Its best rank was #780 in 1935.

U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.

Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.

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How the Name Carma Shapes Your Personality and Life?

You are cheerful and friendly, but are apt to have an emotional life. You like to have several lines of effort going at once. You are a good talker and promoter and seldom worry over anything. At times, you can be impatient, and impulsive. You have the ability to bring an idea to completion. You can express yourself joyously and constructively. You might be psychic, but not know it. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.

You desire to inspire and lead, to control other's affairs. You are giving, courageous and bold, action oriented,energetic and strong willed. You want to make a difference in the world, and this attitude often attracts you to cultural interests, politics, social issues, and the cultivation of your creative talents.

✦ Carma's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Carma's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.
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