# Saleh (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/saleh/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Arabic |
| Meaning | “pious” |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 1,783 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 1,777 / 6 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 559, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Iranian Persian صالح (sâleh) or directly from Arabic صَالِح (ṣāliḥ, literally “pious”).

## What it means

Saleh is grouped under holy.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 6 | 15,004 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 45 | 2,695 |
| 2012 | 48 | 2,590 |
| 2013 | 54 | 2,357 |
| 2014 | 59 | 2,269 |
| 2015 | 56 | 2,349 |
| 2016 | 75 | 1,955 |
| 2017 | 74 | 1,955 |
| 2018 | 83 | 1,832 |
| 2019 | 61 | 2,286 |
| 2020 | 63 | 2,204 |
| 2021 | 61 | 2,295 |
| 2022 | 74 | 2,058 |
| 2023 | 79 | 1,963 |
| 2024 | 81 | 1,952 |
| 2025 | 55 | 2,472 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 24 | 1,087 |
| 2012 | 21 | 1,229 |
| 2013 | 19 | 1,294 |
| 2014 | 21 | 1,223 |
| 2015 | 27 | 1,046 |
| 2016 | 23 | 1,187 |
| 2017 | 19 | 1,339 |
| 2018 | 24 | 1,132 |
| 2019 | 20 | 1,253 |
| 2020 | 23 | 1,150 |
| 2021 | 20 | 1,290 |
| 2022 | 31 | 967 |
| 2023 | 45 | 738 |
| 2024 | 36 | 880 |
| 2025 | 34 | 914 |

## People named Saleh

- Mahamat Saleh Haroun, Chadian film director, producer and screenwriter
- Saleh Kebzabo, Chadian politician
- Saleh as-Sammad, former head of the Houthi Supreme Political Council
- Salih ibn Ali, Abbasid governor and general (711-769)
- Salih ibn Tarif, Amazigh (Berber) king

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.