Alma is a Latin word that means "nourishing" or "kind", familiar from the phrase alma mater, and in Spanish and Italian it also means "soul". The name became popular in the 19th century after the Battle of the Alma in the Crimean War, and composer Gustav Mahler's wife Alma is a well-known bearer. In the United States Alma is a vintage name quietly on the way back, from number 491 in 2000 and the 700s in 2016 to number 449 in 2025, its best rank this century.