# Salem (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/salem/  
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 and girls |
| Origin | Hebrew |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈseɪləm/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 11,178 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 4,687 / 6,491 (58% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 314, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Biblical Hebrew שָׁלֵם (šālēm) (Genesis 14:18).

## 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 65 | 2,721 |
| 2012 | 85 | 2,229 |
| 2013 | 91 | 2,103 |
| 2014 | 144 | 1,524 |
| 2015 | 162 | 1,433 |
| 2016 | 188 | 1,285 |
| 2017 | 205 | 1,196 |
| 2018 | 257 | 1,013 |
| 2019 | 377 | 749 |
| 2020 | 480 | 608 |
| 2021 | 614 | 506 |
| 2022 | 700 | 448 |
| 2023 | 734 | 417 |
| 2024 | 718 | 432 |
| 2025 | 711 | 436 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 57 | 2,281 |
| 2012 | 69 | 2,029 |
| 2013 | 94 | 1,632 |
| 2014 | 109 | 1,491 |
| 2015 | 139 | 1,286 |
| 2016 | 149 | 1,247 |
| 2017 | 165 | 1,152 |
| 2018 | 155 | 1,215 |
| 2019 | 236 | 926 |
| 2020 | 288 | 808 |
| 2021 | 364 | 715 |
| 2022 | 400 | 680 |
| 2023 | 440 | 631 |
| 2024 | 442 | 634 |
| 2025 | 400 | 679 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 4 | 3,262 |
| 2007 | 4 | 4,294 |
| 2008 | 3 | 5,545 |
| 2009 | 3 | 5,556 |
| 2012 | 4 | 4,838 |
| 2014 | 6 | 3,514 |
| 2016 | 4 | 4,763 |
| 2020 | 6 | 3,447 |
| 2022 | 3 | 5,669 |
| 2023 | 5 | 4,056 |
| 2024 | 3 | 5,891 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 13 | 1,688 |
| 2012 | 7 | 2,721 |
| 2013 | 7 | 2,660 |
| 2014 | 5 | 3,362 |
| 2015 | 6 | 3,004 |
| 2016 | 6 | 3,079 |
| 2017 | 13 | 1,812 |
| 2018 | 11 | 1,991 |
| 2019 | 9 | 2,266 |
| 2020 | 13 | 1,723 |
| 2021 | 9 | 2,301 |
| 2022 | 13 | 1,781 |
| 2023 | 22 | 1,243 |
| 2024 | 18 | 1,460 |
| 2025 | 20 | 1,359 |

## People named Salem

- Salem Al-Hajri, association football player
- Salem Ilese, American singer-songwriter (1999-)
- Salem Saad, Emirati footballer (1978-2009)
- Salem Chaker, Algerian linguist

## 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.