2000
#13,240
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,114
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.78
Rare Last name
Saleem
A surname of Arabic origin meaning "safe," "secure," or "peaceful."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,194 Americans carry the last name Saleem. That puts it at #7,116 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.52 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 65,990 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Saleem 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 Saleem with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.2K
1 in 65,990
Census rank
#7,116
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,529 bearers of the surname Saleem in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.52 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7116th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Saleem, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 62.8%. The next largest groups are Black (16.4%) and White (14.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Saleem
Among Census respondents with the surname Saleem, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 62.8%. The next largest groups are Black (16.4%) and White (14.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Saleem 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 Saleem surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander62.8% · 2,845
- Black or African American16.4% · 742
- White14.7% · 667
- Two or more races4.0% · 181
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 82
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Saleem
Saleem 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
#9,767
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,317
+1,203 bearers (+56.9%)
Per 100,000 1.12
Rank movement Up 3,473 places
2020
#7,116
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,529
+1,212 bearers (+36.5%)
Per 100,000 1.52
Rank movement Up 2,651 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,240 | 2,114 | 0.78 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,767 | 3,317 | 1.12 | +1,203 bearers (+56.9%) | Up 3,473 places |
| 2020 | #7,116 | 4,529 | 1.52 | +1,212 bearers (+36.5%) | Up 2,651 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 Saleem 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 | #9,767 | #7,116 | 27.1% |
| Count | 3,317 | 4,529 | 36.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.12 | 1.52 | 35.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Saleem bearers went from 3,317 to 4,529 (+36.5% change). The surname moved up 2,651 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,767 to #7,116.
FAQ
Saleem surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Saleem?
Name Census estimates that about 5,194 living Americans carry the surname Saleem. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 65,990 residents.
How common is Saleem?
Saleem ranks #7,116 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.52 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,529 people with the surname Saleem. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,194), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.52 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.52 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Saleem.
Has Saleem become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Saleem went from 3,317 recorded bearers to 4,529. That is an increase of 1,212 (+36.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,767 to #7,116.
What does the Census say about the background of Saleem?
Among Census respondents with the surname Saleem, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 62.8%. The next largest groups are Black (16.4%) and White (14.7%). 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 Saleem in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.8% (2,845 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Saleem appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (62.8%), Black (16.4%), White (14.7%). 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 Saleem (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 Saleem mean?
A surname of Arabic origin meaning "safe," "secure," or "peaceful." 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 Saleem (1.52 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 common is the surname Saleem?
Find out how common the surname Saleem is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.