About the name Pema
Pema carries the lotus image that runs through every Buddhist tradition, the flower that rises clean out of muddy water, and it doubles as an honorific for Padmasambhava who brought Buddhism into Tibet. Western readers largely met it through Pema Chodron's books, which gave the name a warm, forgiving association in English.
Pema is a girl name of Tibetan origin, pronounced PAY-mah. On the NameRarity scale it scores 84 out of 100, which places it in the very rare band — a genuinely uncommon pick — most people have never met anyone with this name. Its strongest period was the steadily rising.
Name facts at a glance
How popular is Pema?
Pema currently falls outside the US top 1,000, which is a large part of why it scores so highly for rarity. Roughly 4.4 people per million carry it — about 1 in 227,273. In a school of 1,000 pupils you would expect not to find a single one.
Famous people named Pema
- Pema ChodronAmerican Tibetan Buddhist nun and author of When Things Fall Apart
Spellings and variants of Pema
Names similar to Pema
Padma
PUD-mah
Lotus; an epithet of Lakshmi, also the flower of the Padma Awards
Hema
HAY-mah
Gold, golden
Dolma
DOHL-mah
Liberator, the Tibetan name of the goddess Tara
Yeshe
YEH-shay
Primordial wisdom, the Tibetan rendering of jnana
Kshama
KSHUH-mah
Forgiveness, the first of the ten supreme virtues in Jainism
Lhamo
LAH-moh
Goddess, divine female being
Pankaj
PUN-kuj
Lotus, that which is born of mud
Prisha
PREE-shah
Beloved, God's gift
Pema — frequently asked questions
What does the name Pema mean?
Pema means "Lotus, the Tibetan rendering of Sanskrit padma". It is a name of Tibetan origin, most often given to a girl.
How do you pronounce Pema?
Pema is pronounced PAY-mah, with 2 syllables.
How rare is the name Pema?
Pema scores 84 out of 100 on the NameRarity scale, which makes it very rare. Roughly 1 in every 227,273 people carry it — about 4.4 per million.
What is the numerology number for Pema?
Pema carries the expression number 8, known as The Powerhouse. Its soul urge number is 6 and its personality number is 11.
What is the lucky number and lucky colour for Pema?
The lucky number for Pema is 8 (with 17, 26, 35 also favourable), and its lucky colour is Midnight Navy. The traditional lucky day is Saturday and the associated gemstone is Onyx.