2000
#26,469
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 867
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.32
Rare Last name
Salam
A surname derived from the Arabic word meaning "peace" or "greeting".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,061 Americans carry the last name Salam. That puts it at #15,648 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 166,305 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Salam surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Salam with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.1K
1 in 166,305
Census rank
#15,648
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,797 bearers of the surname Salam in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15648th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Salam, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 50.5%. The next largest groups are White (26.4%) and Black (14.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Salam
The surname Salam originates from the Middle East, with its roots dating back to the 7th century. It is an Arabic word derived from the phrase "as-salamu alaikum," which translates to "peace be upon you." This phrase is a common Islamic greeting, indicating that the name likely has ties to the Islamic faith and culture.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Salam can be found in the historical accounts of the Umayyad Caliphate, which ruled over a vast territory spanning from the Iberian Peninsula to parts of Central Asia between the 7th and 8th centuries. During this period, the name was often associated with prominent scholars, poets, and religious figures who played significant roles in the dissemination of Islamic teachings and intellectual pursuits.
The name Salam gained further recognition in the 12th century when it appeared in the writings of the renowned Persian scholar and poet, Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi. Rumi's works, particularly his poetic masterpiece, the Masnavi, frequently referenced individuals bearing the surname Salam, indicating their importance within the literary and scholarly circles of the time.
Throughout history, several notable figures have carried the surname Salam. One of the earliest recorded examples is Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi (865-925 CE), a Persian polymath who made significant contributions to various fields, including medicine, philosophy, and alchemy. Another prominent figure was Ibn Salam al-Jumahi (c. 942-1005 CE), a renowned Arabic philologist and grammarian from Basra, Iraq.
In more recent times, the name Salam has been associated with individuals who have left their mark in various fields. Abdus Salam (1926-1996), a Pakistani theoretical physicist, was the first Muslim to receive the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1979 for his contributions to the unification of the weak and electromagnetic interactions. Naguib Mahfouz (1911-2006), an Egyptian writer and Nobel laureate in literature, was another notable figure with the surname Salam.
The name Salam has also been linked to various place names throughout the Middle East and North Africa. For instance, the city of Salam in modern-day Morocco was named after a local tribe bearing the surname Salam. Similarly, there are villages and towns with variations of the name, such as Salmiya in Kuwait and Salam Bek in Egypt, further emphasizing the widespread presence of this surname across the region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Salam
Among Census respondents with the surname Salam, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 50.5%. The next largest groups are White (26.4%) and Black (14.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Salam bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Salam surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander50.5% · 908
- White26.4% · 474
- Black or African American14.5% · 260
- Two or more races5.6% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 49
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Salam
Salam appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#20,676
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,280
+413 bearers (+47.6%)
Per 100,000 0.43
Rank movement Up 5,793 places
2020
#15,648
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,797
+517 bearers (+40.4%)
Per 100,000 0.60
Rank movement Up 5,028 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #26,469 | 867 | 0.32 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #20,676 | 1,280 | 0.43 | +413 bearers (+47.6%) | Up 5,793 places |
| 2020 | #15,648 | 1,797 | 0.60 | +517 bearers (+40.4%) | Up 5,028 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Salam surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #20,676 | #15,648 | 24.3% |
| Count | 1,280 | 1,797 | 40.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.43 | 0.60 | 39.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Salam bearers went from 1,280 to 1,797 (+40.4% change). The surname moved up 5,028 positions in the national ranking, going from #20,676 to #15,648.
FAQ
Salam surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Salam?
Name Census estimates that about 2,061 living Americans carry the surname Salam. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 166,305 residents.
How common is Salam?
Salam ranks #15,648 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.60 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,797 people with the surname Salam. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,061), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.60 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Salam.
Has Salam become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Salam went from 1,280 recorded bearers to 1,797. That is an increase of 517 (+40.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #20,676 to #15,648.
What does the Census say about the background of Salam?
Among Census respondents with the surname Salam, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 50.5%. The next largest groups are White (26.4%) and Black (14.5%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Salam in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.5% (908 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Salam appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (50.5%), White (26.4%), Black (14.5%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Salam (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Salam mean?
A surname derived from the Arabic word meaning "peace" or "greeting". The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Salam (0.60 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Salam?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.