Selim
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- se-LEEM
- Origin
- Arabic
- UK rank, 2025
- #1,102 for boys
- US rank, 2025
- #2,604 for boys
Selim is a boys' name of Arabic origin, meaning “safe, sound”. In 2025 it ranked 1,102nd for boys in the UK (29 babies) and 2,604th for boys in the US (50 babies).
What does Selim mean?
Arabic: Turkish form of Salim
“safe, sound”
Borne by three Ottoman sultans, including Selim I, who conquered Syria and Egypt in 1516-17.
Is Selim a girl's or a boy's name?
Selim is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 29 boys in the UK and 50 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Selim in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #1,102among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 29about 1 in 10,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Risingup 73% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 29 boys in the UK were named Selim, making it the 1,102nd most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 2,185th. Its busiest year was 2024, with 30 boys.
Half of all the boys named Selim in the UK since 1996 were born between 2014 and 2023, the years shaded on the chart below.
Among boys in 2025, it was 1,035th in England and Wales.
Selim in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 29 | #1,102 |
| 2024 | 30 | #1,064 |
| 2023 | 19 | #1,454 |
| 2022 | 18 | #1,501 |
| 2021 | 16 | #1,619 |
| 2020 | 10 | #2,185 |
| 2019 | 18 | #1,479 |
| 2018 | 17 | #1,555 |
| 2017 | 14 | #1,822 |
| 2016 | 16 | #1,655 |
| 2015 | 11 | #2,127 |
| 2014 | 10 | #2,207 |
| 2013 | 6 | #3,096 |
| 2012 | 8 | #2,595 |
| 2011 | 7 | #2,736 |
| 2010 | 6 | #3,092 |
| 2009 | 5 | #3,395 |
| 2008 | 9 | #2,212 |
| 2007 | 0 | – |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 0 | – |
| 2004 | 5 | #2,691 |
| 2003 | 3 | #3,593 |
| 2002 | 7 | #1,900 |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 0 | – |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 5 | #2,170 |
How popular is Selim in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #2,604among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 50about 1 in 34,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steadydown 16% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 50 boys in the US were named Selim, making it the 2,604th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 2,545th. Its busiest year was 2017, with 78 boys. It first appears in the records in 1971.
2025 had fewer boys named Selim than any year since 2020.
Half of all the boys named Selim in the US since 1880 were born between 2012 and 2021, the years shaded on the chart below.
Selim in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 50 | #2,604 |
| 2024 | 64 | #2,236 |
| 2023 | 54 | #2,479 |
| 2022 | 59 | #2,378 |
| 2021 | 56 | #2,409 |
| 2020 | 50 | #2,545 |
| 2019 | 74 | #1,973 |
| 2018 | 75 | #1,958 |
| 2017 | 78 | #1,871 |
| 2016 | 62 | #2,184 |
| 2015 | 56 | #2,327 |
| 2014 | 59 | #2,254 |
| 2013 | 30 | #3,495 |
| 2012 | 26 | #3,891 |
| 2011 | 26 | #3,883 |
| 2010 | 18 | #5,044 |
| 2009 | 15 | #5,796 |
| 2008 | 16 | #5,482 |
| 2007 | 9 | #8,169 |
| 2006 | 13 | #6,090 |
| 2005 | 13 | #5,869 |
| 2004 | 11 | #6,514 |
| 2003 | 16 | #4,810 |
| 2002 | 10 | #6,515 |
| 2001 | 9 | #6,928 |
| 2000 | 12 | #5,581 |
| 1999 | 9 | #6,524 |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 7 | #7,275 |
| 1996 | 7 | #7,129 |
| 1995 | 0 | – |
| 1994 | 0 | – |
| 1993 | 0 | – |
| 1992 | 5 | #8,426 |
| 1991 | 5 | #8,228 |
| 1990 | 0 | – |
| 1989 | 0 | – |
| 1988 | 0 | – |
| 1987 | 5 | #6,945 |
| 1986 | 0 | – |
| 1985 | 5 | #6,517 |
| 1984 | 0 | – |
| 1983 | 0 | – |
| 1982 | 7 | #5,001 |
| 1981 | 0 | – |
| 1980 | 0 | – |
| 1979 | 0 | – |
| 1978 | 7 | #4,552 |
| 1977 | 0 | – |
| 1976 | 0 | – |
| 1975 | 0 | – |
| 1974 | 0 | – |
| 1973 | 0 | – |
| 1972 | 0 | – |
| 1971 | 5 | #4,905 |
Names like Selim
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Muhammad Musa Zayan Arham Ibrahim Zayaan Zayd Hamza Umar Abdullah Rayyan Ahmed
Names related to Selim
More Arabic names
Layla Mohammed Lyla Mohammad Zara Aaliyah Amir Amira Fatima Ali Yahya Zayn Aisha Omar Zahra Kairo
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, “Selim: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/selim, updated 20 October 2026.