Salma
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- SAL-ma
- Origin
- Arabic
- UK rank, 2025
- #655 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #936 for girls
Salma is a girls' name of Arabic origin, meaning “safe, peaceful”. In 2025 it ranked 655th for girls in the UK (63 babies) and 936th for girls in the US (278 babies).
What does Salma mean?
Arabic
“safe, peaceful”
From the Arabic root s-l-m, peace and safety, which also gives the names Salim and Salman and the word Islam.
More on Wiktionary.
Is Salma a girl's or a boy's name?
Salma is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 63 girls in the UK and 278 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Salma in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #655among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 63about 1 in 4,400 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steadydown 4% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 63 girls in the UK were named Salma, making it the 655th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 910th. Its busiest year was 2007, with 148 girls.
2025 had more girls named Salma than any year since 2018.
Half of all the girls named Salma in the UK since 1996 were born between 2003 and 2015. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.
In 2025, 66 girls in the UK were given Salma or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #592, up from #655 for this spelling alone.
- Salma 63
- Salmah 3
Among girls in 2025, it was 622nd in England and Wales.
Salma in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 63 | #655 |
| 2024 | 55 | #735 |
| 2023 | 46 | #843 |
| 2022 | 52 | #757 |
| 2021 | 55 | #745 |
| 2020 | 42 | #910 |
| 2019 | 59 | #718 |
| 2018 | 70 | #636 |
| 2017 | 78 | #601 |
| 2016 | 93 | #509 |
| 2015 | 93 | #505 |
| 2014 | 87 | #542 |
| 2013 | 101 | #459 |
| 2012 | 105 | #469 |
| 2011 | 112 | #438 |
| 2010 | 128 | #391 |
| 2009 | 137 | #356 |
| 2008 | 138 | #362 |
| 2007 | 148 | #336 |
| 2006 | 131 | #359 |
| 2005 | 107 | #401 |
| 2004 | 133 | #333 |
| 2003 | 137 | #315 |
| 2002 | 87 | #419 |
| 2001 | 83 | #425 |
| 2000 | 88 | #404 |
| 1999 | 82 | #427 |
| 1998 | 99 | #371 |
| 1997 | 84 | #427 |
| 1996 | 77 | #438 |
How popular is Salma in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #936among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 278about 1 in 5,800 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steadyup 2% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 278 girls in the US were named Salma, making it the 936th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,046th. Its busiest year was 1999, with 442 girls. It first appears in the records in 1918.
2025 had fewer girls named Salma than any year since 2020.
Half of all the girls named Salma in the US since 1880 were born between 2002 and 2017, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 284 girls in the US were given Salma or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #860, up from #936 for this spelling alone.
- Salma 278
- Salmah 6
Salma in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 278 | #936 |
| 2024 | 310 | #871 |
| 2023 | 295 | #905 |
| 2022 | 311 | #895 |
| 2021 | 290 | #919 |
| 2020 | 240 | #1,046 |
| 2019 | 289 | #916 |
| 2018 | 340 | #801 |
| 2017 | 362 | #765 |
| 2016 | 385 | #738 |
| 2015 | 351 | #802 |
| 2014 | 309 | #883 |
| 2013 | 324 | #825 |
| 2012 | 348 | #785 |
| 2011 | 313 | #842 |
| 2010 | 300 | #883 |
| 2009 | 360 | #784 |
| 2008 | 332 | #848 |
| 2007 | 349 | #822 |
| 2006 | 362 | #758 |
| 2005 | 358 | #749 |
| 2004 | 309 | #812 |
| 2003 | 377 | #692 |
| 2002 | 318 | #759 |
| 2001 | 364 | #684 |
| 2000 | 359 | #672 |
| 1999 | 442 | #569 |
| 1998 | 430 | #570 |
| 1997 | 291 | #734 |
| 1996 | 101 | #1,563 |
| 1995 | 49 | #2,547 |
| 1994 | 55 | #2,348 |
| 1993 | 46 | #2,634 |
| 1992 | 42 | #2,825 |
| 1991 | 41 | #2,837 |
| 1990 | 38 | #2,952 |
| 1989 | 26 | #3,778 |
| 1988 | 19 | #4,491 |
| 1987 | 24 | #3,621 |
| 1986 | 24 | #3,552 |
| 1985 | 12 | #5,676 |
| 1984 | 16 | #4,477 |
| 1983 | 13 | #5,147 |
| 1982 | 17 | #4,346 |
| 1981 | 16 | #4,531 |
| 1980 | 11 | #5,911 |
| 1979 | 5 | #10,208 |
| 1978 | 13 | #4,931 |
| 1977 | 5 | #9,650 |
| 1976 | 0 | – |
| 1975 | 9 | #5,982 |
| 1974 | 10 | #5,359 |
| 1973 | 7 | #6,664 |
| 1972 | 10 | #5,108 |
| 1971 | 0 | – |
| 1970 | 0 | – |
| 1969 | 0 | – |
| 1968 | 0 | – |
| 1967 | 0 | – |
| 1966 | 0 | – |
| 1965 | 0 | – |
| 1964 | 0 | – |
| 1963 | 0 | – |
| 1962 | 0 | – |
| 1961 | 0 | – |
| 1960 | 0 | – |
| 1959 | 0 | – |
| 1958 | 0 | – |
| 1957 | 0 | – |
| 1956 | 0 | – |
| 1955 | 0 | – |
| 1954 | 0 | – |
| 1953 | 0 | – |
| 1952 | 0 | – |
| 1951 | 0 | – |
| 1950 | 0 | – |
| 1949 | 0 | – |
| 1948 | 0 | – |
| 1947 | 0 | – |
| 1946 | 0 | – |
| 1945 | 0 | – |
| 1944 | 0 | – |
| 1943 | 0 | – |
| 1942 | 0 | – |
| 1941 | 0 | – |
| 1940 | 0 | – |
| 1939 | 0 | – |
| 1938 | 0 | – |
| 1937 | 0 | – |
| 1936 | 0 | – |
| 1935 | 0 | – |
| 1934 | 0 | – |
| 1933 | 0 | – |
| 1932 | 0 | – |
| 1931 | 0 | – |
| 1930 | 0 | – |
| 1929 | 0 | – |
| 1928 | 0 | – |
| 1927 | 0 | – |
| 1926 | 0 | – |
| 1925 | 0 | – |
| 1924 | 0 | – |
| 1923 | 0 | – |
| 1922 | 0 | – |
| 1921 | 0 | – |
| 1920 | 0 | – |
| 1919 | 0 | – |
| 1918 | 6 | #4,289 |
Names like Salma
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Safa Hiba Hafsa Zainab Safaa Rahma Safiya Huda Aaliyah Faiza Sumayyah Summer
Other spellings of Salma
Salmah
Names related to Salma
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, “Salma: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/salma, updated 20 October 2026.