Saleema
A feminine Arabic name meaning "safe", "secure", or "peaceful".
Name Census estimates that about 194 living Americans carry the first name Saleema. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Saleema today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Saleema births was 1988 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Saleema. 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
194
~ 1 in 1,766,775 Americans
Peak year
1988
11 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2017 SSA rank
#17,995
Tracked since 1971
Popularity
Saleema: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Saleema from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 50 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Saleema remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Saleema 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 Saleema 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 Saleema
The given name Saleema has its origins in the Arabic language. It is derived from the Arabic root word "salima," which means "to be safe" or "to be unharmed." The name is believed to have originated in the Middle East, particularly in the Arabian Peninsula, during the early Islamic era.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Saleema can be found in historical Islamic texts and literature. It was a name given to girls born during times of peace and harmony, symbolizing the parents' hope for their daughter to live a safe and protected life.
Historically, the name Saleema has been associated with notable figures in the Islamic world. One such figure was Saleema bint Yazid al-Kalbi, a renowned female poet and scholar who lived in the 8th century CE in present-day Iraq. She was known for her contributions to Arabic literature and her expertise in genealogy.
Another notable bearer of the name was Saleema al-Samaani, a 10th-century Islamic scholar and lexicographer from Merv, a city in modern-day Turkmenistan. She wrote extensively on Arabic grammar and linguistics, and her works were widely studied and referenced by scholars of her time.
In the 12th century, there was Saleema bint Muhammed al-Muqri, a renowned Islamic scholar and teacher from Damascus, Syria. She was widely respected for her knowledge of the Quran and Islamic jurisprudence, and she taught many students who went on to become prominent scholars in their own right.
During the 14th century, a woman named Saleema al-Andalusiyya was a prominent figure in the Islamic intellectual circles of Andalusia (modern-day Spain). She was a respected poet, scholar, and calligrapher, and her works were widely admired for their elegance and erudition.
In the 16th century, Saleema Begum was a powerful and influential woman in the Mughal Empire of South Asia. She was the wife of the Mughal Emperor Akbar and played a significant role in the political and cultural affairs of the empire during her husband's reign.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Saleema. The name has continued to be used across various cultures and regions influenced by the Arabic language and Islamic traditions.
People
Saleema + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Saleema 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
Saleema: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Saleema?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 194 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Saleema 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 1,766,775 US residents.
Is Saleema a common name?
We classify Saleema as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 202 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Saleema most popular?
The single biggest year for Saleema was 1988, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Saleema is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Saleema a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Saleema 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.