Desma

♀ Girl

How to Pronounce Desma

Pronounced DEZ-muh /ˈdɛz.mə/Medium

Meaning: Desma is most often traced to Greek 'desmos', meaning a bond, tie, or pledge, giving the sense of one who is bound or promised. In American use it can also read as a short vintage coinage or a clipped form of longer names, so its exact route is uncertain.Low

In 30 seconds: Desma is a Greek-rooted name usually read as bond or pledge, from desmos. It stayed rare in the United States, peaking around 1968 (said DEZ-muh).

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Origin LowGreek, English

MeaningDesma is most often traced to Greek 'desmos', meaning a bond, tie, or pledge, giving the sense of one who is bound or promised. In American use it can also read as a short vintage coinage or a clipped form of longer names, so its exact route is uncertain.

U.S. rank (1998)#12880 ↘ Falling

1998 U.S. births6 girls (0.00% of U.S. girls)

Peak year1968

Total births (all-time)≈ 445

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Desma is generally linked to the Greek 'desmos', a bond or pledge, and read as a name for one who is bound or promised. It appears in American records as a short, uncommon name; whether a given family chose it for its Greek sense or simply as a spare, pretty coinage is not always clear, which we note.

Desma never caught on widely in the United States, sitting at only about twenty girls a year at its faint peak around 1968 and drifting through the middle decades of the century. A girl named Desma then is in her fifties today.

Did you know? The Greek root behind Desma, desmos, is the same one that gives science the word desmosome, the tiny structure that binds cells together - the idea of binding runs right through the name.

Overall data confidence 40%

References - Desma — Greek desmos (bond/pledge); short-coinage route uncertain

Variations

DesmonaDesireeThelma

Nicknames

DessieDes

Famous Bearers

Famous bearers coming soon.

If you like Desma…

Thelma— a like vintage -ma girl name

Velma— a similar rare early-century pick

Delma— a close cousin in sound

Norma— a similar sturdy vintage name

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By themeuncertain rare vintage heritage

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Desma mean?

It is usually traced to Greek 'desmos', a bond or pledge; in American use it may also be a short coinage. The route is uncertain.

How do you pronounce Desma?

It is said DEZ-muh /ˈdɛz.mə/, two syllables with the stress on the first.

Is Desma a boy or girl name?

Desma is used here as a girl's name.

How popular is Desma?

It has always been rare in the United States, given to only about twenty girls a year at its peak in the late nineteen-sixties.