Saleah
An Arabic feminine name meaning "pious, righteous woman".
Name Census estimates that about 249 living Americans carry the first name Saleah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Saleah today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Saleah births was 2013 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Saleah. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
249
~ 1 in 1,376,523 Americans
Peak year
2013
17 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2023 SSA rank
#8,879
Tracked since 1999
Popularity
Saleah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Saleah from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 130 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Saleah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Saleah by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Saleah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Saleah
The name Saleah finds its origins in the Arabic language and Islamic culture, with roots tracing back to the 7th century AD during the rise of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula. It is derived from the Arabic word "salih," meaning "virtuous" or "righteous," often associated with piety and moral uprightness.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Saleah can be found in the Quran, the central religious text of Islam. The name is mentioned in reference to the prophet Salih, who was sent to the ancient Arabic tribe of Thamud to preach monotheism and guide them away from idolatry.
In the 10th century, a prominent scholar and jurist named Saleah ibn Abdur-Rahman al-Azdi (860-940 AD) gained recognition for his contributions to Islamic jurisprudence and the study of the Hadith, the recorded sayings and traditions of Prophet Muhammad.
During the Abbasid Caliphate, which ruled from 750 to 1258 AD, the name Saleah was relatively common among the elite and scholarly circles of the time. One notable figure was Saleah ibn Faris al-Baghdadi (939-1005 AD), a renowned linguist and lexicographer who authored several influential works on Arabic grammar and lexicography.
In the 12th century, a renowned Sufi mystic and poet, Saleah al-Din al-Nuri (1139-1194 AD), gained a following for his spiritual teachings and poetic works, which explored themes of divine love and mystical union.
Another notable historical figure bearing the name Saleah was Saleah al-Din al-Ayyubi (1137-1193 AD), better known as Saladin, the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria. He is celebrated for his military leadership, particularly in the recapture of Jerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187 AD, and for his chivalry and respect towards his adversaries.
Throughout the centuries, the name Saleah has maintained its significance within Islamic cultures, often bestowed upon individuals with the hope that they will embody the virtues and righteousness associated with the name's origins.
People
Saleah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Saleah as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Saleah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Saleah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 249 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Saleah going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,376,523 US residents.
Is Saleah a common name?
We classify Saleah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 251 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Saleah most popular?
The single biggest year for Saleah was 2013, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Saleah is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Saleah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Saleah in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.