Salima
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- sah-LEE-mah
- Origin
- Arabic
- US rank, 2025
- #6,545 for girls
Salima is a girls' name of Arabic origin, meaning “safe, sound, unharmed”. In 2025 it ranked 6,545th for girls in the US (17 babies).
What does Salima mean?
Arabic: feminine of Salim
“safe, sound, unharmed”
Feminine of Salim, from the Arabic root s-l-m 'peace, safety', shared with salaam and Islam.
Is Salima a girl's or a boy's name?
Salima is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 17 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Salima in the UK?
No girls in the UK were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 1998, with 13 girls.
Half of all the girls named Salima in the UK since 1996 were born between 2000 and 2013. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.
Salima in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | #4,907 |
| 2023 | 3 | #5,929 |
| 2022 | 0 | – |
| 2021 | 1 | #7,491 |
| 2020 | 3 | #5,734 |
| 2019 | 3 | #5,804 |
| 2018 | 5 | #4,204 |
| 2017 | 8 | #3,102 |
| 2016 | 0 | – |
| 2015 | 3 | #5,983 |
| 2014 | 6 | #3,702 |
| 2013 | 5 | #4,267 |
| 2012 | 0 | – |
| 2011 | 7 | #3,360 |
| 2010 | 7 | #3,308 |
| 2009 | 3 | #5,801 |
| 2008 | 6 | #3,589 |
| 2007 | 4 | #4,494 |
| 2006 | 7 | #2,940 |
| 2005 | 8 | #2,555 |
| 2004 | 4 | #3,916 |
| 2003 | 10 | #1,954 |
| 2002 | 7 | #2,436 |
| 2001 | 7 | #2,341 |
| 2000 | 4 | #3,399 |
| 1999 | 7 | #2,295 |
| 1998 | 13 | #1,505 |
| 1997 | 11 | #1,664 |
| 1996 | 7 | #2,201 |
How popular is Salima in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #6,545among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 17about 1 in 95,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Risingup 28% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 17 girls in the US were named Salima, making it the 6,545th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 8,948th. Its busiest year was 2018, with 22 girls. It first appears in the records in 1969.
Half of all the girls named Salima in the US since 1880 were born between 1986 and 2015, the years shaded on the chart below.
Salima in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 17 | #6,545 |
| 2024 | 20 | #5,959 |
| 2023 | 18 | #6,404 |
| 2022 | 12 | #8,536 |
| 2021 | 14 | #7,625 |
| 2020 | 11 | #8,948 |
| 2019 | 10 | #9,730 |
| 2018 | 22 | #5,615 |
| 2017 | 15 | #7,438 |
| 2016 | 8 | #11,776 |
| 2015 | 14 | #8,004 |
| 2014 | 10 | #10,124 |
| 2013 | 16 | #7,368 |
| 2012 | 12 | #9,105 |
| 2011 | 6 | #14,816 |
| 2010 | 12 | #9,227 |
| 2009 | 14 | #8,450 |
| 2008 | 10 | #10,802 |
| 2007 | 7 | #13,918 |
| 2006 | 14 | #8,234 |
| 2005 | 15 | #7,495 |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 11 | #9,043 |
| 2002 | 7 | #12,181 |
| 2001 | 10 | #9,344 |
| 2000 | 16 | #6,481 |
| 1999 | 10 | #8,798 |
| 1998 | 5 | #14,116 |
| 1997 | 7 | #10,831 |
| 1996 | 11 | #7,569 |
| 1995 | 7 | #10,509 |
| 1994 | 9 | #8,798 |
| 1993 | 7 | #10,581 |
| 1992 | 11 | #7,504 |
| 1991 | 10 | #7,980 |
| 1990 | 12 | #6,861 |
| 1989 | 7 | #9,675 |
| 1988 | 16 | #5,060 |
| 1987 | 13 | #5,608 |
| 1986 | 9 | #7,130 |
| 1985 | 8 | #7,560 |
| 1984 | 6 | #9,139 |
| 1983 | 8 | #7,310 |
| 1982 | 6 | #9,235 |
| 1981 | 5 | #10,409 |
| 1980 | 13 | #5,244 |
| 1979 | 7 | #8,059 |
| 1978 | 13 | #4,931 |
| 1977 | 11 | #5,530 |
| 1976 | 20 | #3,406 |
| 1975 | 9 | #5,982 |
| 1974 | 6 | #7,678 |
| 1973 | 7 | #6,664 |
| 1972 | 6 | #7,290 |
| 1971 | 7 | #6,617 |
| 1970 | 5 | #7,994 |
| 1969 | 6 | #6,615 |
Names like Salima
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Safa Safiya Aaliyah Sumayyah Halima Hiba Khadija Hafsa Safia Zainab Abeeha Saba
Names related to Salima
More Arabic names
Muhammad Layla Mohammed Lyla Mohammad Zara Amir Amira Fatima Ali Yahya Zayn Aisha Omar Zahra Hamza
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Salima: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/salima, updated 20 October 2026.