Selda
An Arabic feminine name meaning "serene, tranquil".
Name Census estimates that about 4 living Americans carry the first name Selda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Selda today is around 98 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Selda births was 1919 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Selda. 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 Selda with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Selda is about 98 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Seldas were born before 1938.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Selda. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
4
~ 1 in 85,688,585 Americans
Peak year
1919
14 babies that year
Average age
98
years old
1938 SSA rank
#3,149
Tracked since 1909
Census
Selda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 224 people with the first name Selda, which placed it at #35,741 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#35,741
National first-name rank
People counted
224
224 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
82.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Selda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Selda is White at 82.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.9%) and Black (4.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Selda described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Selda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.6% · 185
- Hispanic or Latino8.9% · 20
- Black or African American4.9% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.1% · 7
- Two or more races0.4% · 1
Popularity
Selda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Selda from the 1900s through to the 1930s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 40 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Selda remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Selda 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 Selda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Seldas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Selda
The given name Selda is believed to have originated from the Turkish language, where it is a feminine name. Its earliest roots can be traced back to the Ottoman Empire and the Seljuk Turks, who ruled various regions of Anatolia and the Middle East from the 11th to the 14th century.
Selda is derived from the Turkish word "sel," which means "torrent" or "flood," and the suffix "-da," which is a common feminine name ending in Turkish. The name is thought to symbolize strength, power, and resilience, much like a powerful torrent or flood. It may have been given to girls born during times of heavy rainfall or flooding, or to those who were considered strong-willed and determined.
While the name Selda does not appear to have any direct historical references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it has been documented in Ottoman records and literature from the 16th century onwards. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is Selda Hanım, a Turkish noblewoman and philanthropist who lived in the late 19th century and established several schools and charitable institutions for women and children in Istanbul.
Among the notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Selda are Selda Bağcan, a prominent Turkish folk singer and political activist born in 1948, who was known for her powerful vocals and socially conscious lyrics. Selda Alkor, born in 1973, is a Turkish actress and model who has appeared in numerous films and television series.
Selda Öz, born in 1977, is a Turkish writer and journalist who has published several novels and short story collections, exploring themes of identity, feminism, and modern life in Turkey. Selda Gökalp Aytaç, born in 1963, is a Turkish academic and professor of linguistics, known for her contributions to the study of Turkish language and literature.
Selda Bektore, born in 1982, is a Turkish-American artist and sculptor whose works have been exhibited in various galleries and museums around the world, often exploring themes of cultural identity and the human experience.
People
Selda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Selda 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
Selda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Selda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Selda 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 85,688,585 US residents.
Is Selda a common name?
We classify Selda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 6.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 86 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Selda most popular?
The single biggest year for Selda was 1919, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Selda is about 98 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Selda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 224 people with the name Selda, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,741 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Selda in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Selda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Selda appears almost entirely female. Of the 228 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Selda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Selda is White at 82.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.9%) and Black (4.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Selda most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Selda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.6% (185 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Selda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Selda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Selda 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 Selda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Selda 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 Selda 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.
How many people share the name Selda?
Want to know how many Americans are named Selda? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.