Salim
A masculine Arabic name meaning "peaceful" or "secure".
Name Census estimates that about 1,897 living Americans carry the first name Salim. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Salim today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Salim births was 2023 (65 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Salim. 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
1.9K
~ 1 in 180,682 Americans
Peak year
2023
65 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,654
Tracked since 1960
Popularity
Salim: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Salim from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 509 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Salim remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Salim 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 Salim during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Salims live
The SSA's state-level files cover 12 states and territories. New York, California, Minnesota recorded the most babies named Salim, while Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 50 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Salim
The name Salim has its origins in Arabic culture and language. It is derived from the Arabic root word "salama," which means "peace" or "safety." The name Salim is believed to have been in use as early as the 7th century AD, during the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Salim can be found in the Quran, the central religious text of Islam. In the Quran, the name Salim is mentioned as the son of the prophet Noah. This biblical reference suggests that the name has been in use for centuries and has roots in both Islamic and Judeo-Christian traditions.
Throughout history, the name Salim has been borne by various prominent figures across the Muslim world. One of the most notable individuals with this name was Salim I, the Ottoman Sultan who ruled from 1512 to 1520. During his reign, Salim I expanded the Ottoman Empire into parts of the Middle East and North Africa.
Another famous bearer of the name Salim was Salim Ali, an Indian ornithologist and naturalist who lived from 1896 to 1987. He is widely regarded as the "Bird Man of India" and made significant contributions to the study of birds and their habitats in the subcontinent.
In the field of literature, Salim was the pen name of the 19th-century Urdu poet Syed Shujaat Ali Qadri, who was born in 1838 and died in 1908. His works, which often explored themes of love and spirituality, are considered among the finest examples of Urdu poetry from that era.
The name Salim has also been borne by several rulers and nobles throughout history, such as Salim Shah Suri, the Sultan of Bengal who reigned from 1459 to 1490, and Salim Khan, the Nawab of Tonk in Rajasthan, India, who lived from 1718 to 1768.
While the name Salim has its roots in Arabic and Islamic culture, it has transcended linguistic and religious boundaries and has been adopted by various communities across the world. Its association with peace and safety has made it a popular choice for parents seeking a name with positive connotations for their children.
People
Salim + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Salim 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
Salim: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Salim?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,897 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Salim 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 180,682 US residents.
Is Salim a common name?
We classify Salim as "Rare". It ranks above 93.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,945 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Salim most popular?
The single biggest year for Salim was 2023, when 65 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Salim is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Salim a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Salim in the SSA data are male. 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.