Zalmen
A masculine name derived from Hebrew for "peace, serenity".
Name Census estimates that about 633 living Americans carry the first name Zalmen. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Zalmen today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zalmen births was 2024 (34 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zalmen. 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
633
~ 1 in 541,476 Americans
Peak year
2024
34 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,446
Tracked since 1956
Popularity
Zalmen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zalmen from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 189 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Zalmen remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zalmen 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 Zalmen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zalmens live
Origin
Meaning and history of Zalmen
The name Zalmen is a variant spelling of the Hebrew name Shlomo, which is derived from the Hebrew word "shalom" meaning "peace." Shlomo was the Hebrew name given to the biblical King Solomon, who reigned over the united Kingdom of Israel and Judah in the 10th century BCE.
The earliest recorded use of the name Zalmen dates back to the Middle Ages, when it was commonly used among Ashkenazi Jewish communities in Eastern Europe. The name gained widespread popularity during this time, particularly in areas like Poland, Russia, and Ukraine.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Zalmen was Rabbi Zalmen of Liadi, a renowned Hasidic Jewish leader and mystic who lived in the 18th century (1746-1813). He was a disciple of Rabbi Dov Ber, the Maggid of Mezeritch, and played a significant role in the spread of Hasidic Judaism.
Another notable figure with the name Zalmen was Zalmen Shneur, a prominent Hasidic rabbi and author who lived in the late 18th and early 19th centuries (1770-1844). He was the son of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement.
In the 19th century, Zalmen Bahmer (1827-1888) was a well-known Yiddish writer and playwright from Ukraine. He is considered one of the pioneers of modern Yiddish literature and is best known for his plays and humorous works depicting Jewish life in Eastern Europe.
The name Zalmen also appears in historical records related to the Holocaust. Zalmen Gradowski (1910-1944) was a Polish-Jewish writer and chronicler who documented the conditions in the Łódź Ghetto during World War II. His writings provide a valuable eyewitness account of the atrocities committed against the Jewish population.
Another notable figure with the name Zalmen was Zalmen Shazar (1889-1974), who served as the third President of Israel from 1963 to 1973. Prior to his presidency, he was a prominent Zionist leader and played a significant role in the establishment of the State of Israel.
People
Zalmen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zalmen as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Z
Other first names starting with Z with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Zalmen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zalmen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 633 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zalmen 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 541,476 US residents.
Is Zalmen a common name?
We classify Zalmen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 648 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zalmen most popular?
The single biggest year for Zalmen was 2024, when 34 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zalmen is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Zalmen a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zalmen 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.