2000
#15,710
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,707
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.63
Rare Last name
Salman
A surname of Arabic origin meaning "safe" or "secure," derived from the Arabic root "salima" meaning "to be safe."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,877 Americans carry the last name Salman. That puts it at #7,538 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.42 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 70,280 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Salman 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 Salman with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.9K
1 in 70,280
Census rank
#7,538
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,253 bearers of the surname Salman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.42 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7538th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Salman, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (24.3%) and Hispanic (5.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Salman
The surname Salman has its origins in the Middle East, specifically in the Arabian Peninsula. It is derived from the Arabic word "salaam," which means peace or safety, and is a variation of the name "Suleiman" or "Solomon."
The name can be traced back to the 7th century AD, during the early days of the Islamic civilization. It is believed that the name was initially used by those who were followers of the Islamic faith or had ties to the religion.
In ancient Arabic manuscripts and records, the name Salman is mentioned as belonging to several notable figures, including Salman al-Farisi, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad, who lived in the 7th century AD.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Salman can be found in the "Kitab al-Aghani" (Book of Songs), a historical work compiled in the 9th century AD by Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani. This work mentions several individuals with the name Salman, indicating its prevalence during that time.
Throughout history, the surname Salman has been associated with various influential personalities. One notable example is Salman the Persian, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad, who played a significant role in the early spread of Islam.
Another prominent figure with the surname Salman was Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Ahmad al-Salman, a renowned scholar and mathematician from the 10th century AD, known for his contributions to the field of algebra.
In the 13th century, the Moroccan traveler and explorer Ibn Battuta encountered individuals with the surname Salman during his travels across the Muslim world, as documented in his famous travel narrative, "Rihlah" (The Travels).
The name Salman has also been linked to place names in the Middle East, such as the village of Salman in present-day Iraq, and the town of Salman in Saudi Arabia, both of which may have derived their names from individuals bearing the surname.
Other notable individuals with the surname Salman include Ahmad al-Salman, a 14th-century Islamic scholar from Damascus, and Mustafa al-Salman, a 19th-century Ottoman scholar and writer from modern-day Turkey.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Salman
Among Census respondents with the surname Salman, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (24.3%) and Hispanic (5.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Salman 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 Salman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.2% · 2,729
- Asian and Pacific Islander24.3% · 1,034
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 219
- Two or more races3.6% · 152
- Black or African American2.6% · 112
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Salman
Salman 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
#13,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,311
+604 bearers (+35.4%)
Per 100,000 0.78
Rank movement Up 2,489 places
2020
#7,538
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,253
+1,942 bearers (+84.0%)
Per 100,000 1.42
Rank movement Up 5,683 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,710 | 1,707 | 0.63 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,221 | 2,311 | 0.78 | +604 bearers (+35.4%) | Up 2,489 places |
| 2020 | #7,538 | 4,253 | 1.42 | +1,942 bearers (+84.0%) | Up 5,683 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 Salman 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 | #13,221 | #7,538 | 43.0% |
| Count | 2,311 | 4,253 | 84.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.78 | 1.42 | 82.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Salman bearers went from 2,311 to 4,253 (+84.0% change). The surname moved up 5,683 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,221 to #7,538.
FAQ
Salman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Salman?
Name Census estimates that about 4,877 living Americans carry the surname Salman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 70,280 residents.
How common is Salman?
Salman ranks #7,538 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.42 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 4,253 people with the surname Salman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,877), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.42 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.42 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 Salman.
Has Salman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Salman went from 2,311 recorded bearers to 4,253. That is an increase of 1,942 (+84.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,221 to #7,538.
What does the Census say about the background of Salman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Salman, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (24.3%) and Hispanic (5.1%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Salman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.2% (2,729 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Salman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (64.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (24.3%), Hispanic (5.1%). 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 Salman (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 Salman mean?
A surname of Arabic origin meaning "safe" or "secure," derived from the Arabic root "salima" meaning "to be safe." 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 Salman (1.42 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 people share the surname Salman?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.