Find out how popular the last name Saleem is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Saleem.

Saleem, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Saleem surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Saleem in America

Saleem is the 9767th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Saleem surname appeared 3,317 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Saleem.

We can also compare 2010 data for Saleem to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Saleem

The surname Saleem has its origins in the Arabic language and is believed to have originated in the Middle East, particularly in regions such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Syria. The name is derived from the Arabic word "salim," which means "peaceful" or "safe."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Saleem can be found in historical manuscripts from the 7th century AD, during the Islamic Golden Age. These manuscripts often referred to individuals with the name Saleem as scholars, poets, or prominent figures within the Islamic community.

In the 9th century, there are records of a renowned scholar named Saleem ibn Qutaybah, who was born in Baghdad and is known for his contributions to the fields of linguistics and literature. Another notable figure from this time period is Saleem al-Basri, a renowned Sufi mystic and scholar born in Basra, Iraq, in the early 9th century.

As the Arabic empire expanded, the name Saleem spread to various regions, including parts of North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula. During the Moorish rule in Spain, there were several prominent individuals with the surname Saleem, such as the 12th-century poet and philosopher Saleem ibn Rushd, also known as Averroes.

In the 13th century, the name Saleem appeared in records from the Ottoman Empire, with one of the earliest known references being to a Turkish statesman and military leader named Saleem Pasha, who served under Sultan Murad II in the 15th century.

Over the centuries, the surname Saleem has been associated with various place names and has undergone slight variations in spelling, such as Salim, Selim, or Salam. Some notable figures with the surname Saleem include Muhammad Saleem, a 16th-century Mughal emperor known for his architectural contributions, and Anwar Saleem, a prominent Pakistani businessman and philanthropist born in 1935.

Other historical figures with the surname Saleem include Syed Saleem Shervani, an Indian Muslim scholar and politician from the early 20th century, and Saleem Sinai, a fictional character from Salman Rushdie's novel "Midnight's Children," who serves as a symbolic representation of post-colonial India.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Saleem

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Saleem.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Saleem was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Saleem has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Saleem was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Saleem, please contact us.

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