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

Selah, 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 Selah surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Selah in America

Selah is the 100791st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Selah surname appeared 179 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Selah.

We can also compare 2010 data for Selah 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 Selah

The surname SELAH is believed to have originated in the Middle East, specifically in the region known as the Levant, which includes modern-day countries like Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and parts of Jordan and Palestine. The name is thought to have its roots in the ancient Hebrew language, where it is associated with the word "Selah," which appears frequently in the biblical Psalms.

In Hebrew, the word "Selah" is believed to have multiple meanings, including "pause," "reflect," or "lift up." It is often interpreted as a musical notation or a call for emphasis or contemplation within the text of the Psalms. The exact origin and meaning of the word have been debated by scholars over the centuries, but its connection to the biblical text has made it a significant part of Jewish and Christian religious traditions.

The earliest known records of the surname SELAH date back to the 12th and 13th centuries, when it appeared in various manuscripts and documents from the Levantine region. One notable example is the Cairo Geniza, a vast collection of Jewish manuscripts discovered in the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Old Cairo, Egypt. Several fragments within the Geniza collection contain references to individuals with the surname SELAH.

During the medieval period, the SELAH surname was particularly prevalent among Jewish communities in the Levant and North Africa. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname was Rabbi Shlomo ben Yosef SELAH, a prominent scholar and commentator who lived in the 12th century in Egypt.

In the 16th century, the SELAH surname began to appear in records from the Ottoman Empire, which controlled much of the Levantine region at the time. One notable figure was Haim SELAH, a Jewish physician and scholar who lived in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) during the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in the 1500s.

As Jewish communities migrated across the Mediterranean and beyond, the SELAH surname spread to other regions. In the 17th century, there are records of individuals with this surname in Italy, such as Rabbi Yitzhak SELAH, a prominent scholar and Talmudist from the city of Livorno.

In the 19th century, the SELAH surname gained prominence in the Sephardic Jewish communities of North Africa, particularly in Algeria and Morocco. One notable figure was Rabbi Yosef SELAH, a renowned scholar and leader of the Jewish community in Algiers during the 1800s.

Throughout its history, the SELAH surname has been associated with religious scholars, rabbis, and intellectuals within the Jewish tradition. While it may have originated in the Levant, the name has since spread to various parts of the world, carried by individuals and families who have migrated over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Selah

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

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 Selah 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 Selah 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 Selah was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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