Saliah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "righteous woman".
Name Census estimates that about 93 living Americans carry the first name Saliah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Saliah today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Saliah births was 2014 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Saliah. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Saliah with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Saliah. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
93
~ 1 in 3,685,531 Americans
Peak year
2014
11 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2021 SSA rank
#17,248
Tracked since 1999
Popularity
Saliah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Saliah 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 42 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Saliah 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 Saliah 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 Saliah
The name Saliah is believed to have originated in the Arabic language, with its roots tracing back to the Middle Eastern region. It is derived from the Arabic word "salah," which means "prayer" or "supplication." This name holds deep religious and spiritual connotations within the Islamic faith.
In ancient times, the name Saliah was associated with piety and devotion to one's religious beliefs. It was commonly given to children as a way to instill in them the importance of prayer and a strong connection to their faith from an early age.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Saliah can be found in the writings of renowned Islamic scholars and historians from the 8th and 9th centuries. These texts often referenced individuals with this name, highlighting their dedication to Islamic teachings and their roles as religious leaders or scholars.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Saliah. One such individual was Saliah ibn Ahmad al-Misri, a 13th-century Egyptian scholar and jurist who made significant contributions to the field of Islamic jurisprudence. His works on legal interpretation and religious rulings were widely influential during his time.
Another prominent figure was Saliah al-Andalusi, a 12th-century mathematician and astronomer from the Iberian Peninsula. He is known for his advancements in the study of celestial mechanics and his contributions to the field of trigonometry, which were highly regarded by his contemporaries.
In the realm of literature, Saliah ibn Abi al-Khair al-Baghdadi was a renowned 10th-century Arab poet and writer from Baghdad. His poetic works, which often explored themes of love, spirituality, and the human condition, have been celebrated for their depth and eloquence.
The name Saliah also found its way into the annals of Islamic mysticism. Saliah al-Suhrawardi, a 12th-century Persian Sufi mystic and philosopher, was highly influential in the development of the Illuminationist school of Islamic philosophy, which sought to reconcile reason and mystical experience.
Another notable figure bearing the name Saliah was Saliah al-Dimashqi, a 15th-century Syrian scholar and historian. His comprehensive works on the history and geography of the region, particularly his writings on the city of Damascus, have become invaluable resources for understanding that era.
People
Saliah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Saliah 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
Saliah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Saliah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 93 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Saliah 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 3,685,531 US residents.
Is Saliah a common name?
We classify Saliah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 94 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Saliah most popular?
The single biggest year for Saliah was 2014, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Saliah is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Saliah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Saliah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Saliah 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.
Is Saliah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Saliah in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Saliah can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Saliah?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.