How do you pronounce Alma?

Girl Names
1

See the results of this poll: Pronounciation of Alma?

Respondents: 101 (This poll is closed)

  • All-ma (all as in tall) : 53 (52%)
  • Al-ma (al as in Alice) : 46 (46%)
  • Other: 2 (2%)
2

I alternate, and have definitely heard both, but I tend to pronounce it as All-ma.

3

The street I live on is called [name_f]Alma[/name_f] street.

I’ve always pronounced it [name_m]Al[/name_m]-ma as in [name_f]Alice[/name_f] and have never heard the other pronounciation!

4

[name_m]Al[/name_m]-ma as in [name_f]Alice[/name_f] here!

5

I’ve always said All-ma same as I say and have only ever heard “[name_f]Alma[/name_f] mater” pronounced. Never heard it said any other way.

6

All-ma. This is a Spanish name meaning “soul.” Mispronouncing the Spanish word would be kind of nonsensical I think, given how many Spanish speakers there are in the world. It would be like pronouncing [name_f]Luna[/name_f] as “lu-nay” or something.

7

I say something like uhl-muh, with the first syllable rhyming with hull (rather than with tall or shall).

8

I have heard both. [name_m]Al[/name_m]-ma as in [name_f]Alice[/name_f] is what I have heard in the states. It is also a name of someone in the Book of Mormon who is male. In international countries I’ve heard more All-ma. I think both have history and are legitimate pronunciations so it’s a matter of taste. I would use [name_m]Al[/name_m]-ma

9

[name_f]Alma[/name_f]. It never occurred to me that it could be pronounced as [name_m]AL[/name_m]-ma. Considering that it is Spanish for “soul” the pronounciation should be All-ma as in tall.

10

Also agree here!

11

I say it with the [name_m]Al[/name_m] like in [name_f]Alice[/name_f]. Like the first poster, I also grew up in a town with a fairly major street called [name_f]Alma[/name_f] Road, and everyone said it like I do, so maybe that’s influencing me. That being said, I think All-ma is just as valid a pronunciation, for all the reasons others have mentioned. I think this is a name that legitimately has 2 accepted pronunciations.

Also, I think it would be easy enough to get people to catch on to your preferred pronunciation, even if they default to the other one. There are plenty of people called [name_f]Anna[/name_f], pronounced [name_m]Ah[/name_m]-na, or [name_u]Andrea[/name_u], pronounced [name_m]Ah[/name_m]-ndrea or whatever.

12

Never heard the All-ma pronunciation. Always gone with the [name_m]Al[/name_m]-as-in-[name_f]Alice[/name_f] version.

13

But the word is pronounced with the “al” sound of [name_f]Alice[/name_f] in Spanish, not with the “awl” of tall, ball, etc. Listen here. That’s not to say that the name shouldn’t be pronounced AWL-muh in English, but in that case I’m a bit confused as to what Spanish has got to do with it.

1 Like
14

This was my Oma’s name and she pronounced it ALL-ma. She was Texan and her parents almost exclusively spoke German, if that helps.

15

I had no idea there were other ways to say it! I say [name_m]Al[/name_m]-ma like the start of [name_f]Alice[/name_f].

16

I’ve only heard All-ma, as well in other languages

17

Definitely [name_m]Al[/name_m]-ma. I didnt even know there is another pronunciation for [name_f]Alma[/name_f] to be honest.

EDIT’ after seeing the poll results iam putting it off my list cause I dont like all-ma at all haha.

18

Honestly, I go back and forth.

19

While this is true, the name itself didn’t become popular until the ‘Battle of [name_f]Alma[/name_f]’ which I believe is named after a small river somewhere by Ukraine (the [name_m]Al[/name_m]'ma [name_u]River[/name_u]) so it’s not an exclusively Spanish name. The name can also be traced back to Hebrew origins, also possibly Arabic and Greek and several others

And to be honest I don’t know how people in Ukraine would say it, or the Hebrew pronunciation just pointing out that this name has several meanings in a variety of different languages so may have other legitimate pronunciations.

20

Same! Damn, now I’m doubting it.