How rare is the name Salma?

12,322 people in the United States have the first name Salma, about 1 in 24,512. It ranks #2,161 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

SALMA

#2,161

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
12,322
About
1 in 24,512
This common or more
78.8%
Who bears it

Of the 12,322 people named Salma, 32.2% reported their origin as Hispanic or Latino, 30.4% as White and 21% as Asian or Pacific Islander. Virtually all are female (99.6%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Salma peaked in 1999, when 442 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
19182025
Peak year
1999
Births that year
442
In 2025*
278 ▼37%
Recorded as
almost entirely female

At least 10,316 babies have been given the name since 1918. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Salma by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 2000s, when it ranked #1,385. The largest share of babies named Salma, 54.4%, were born between 1997 and 2012, as Generation Z.

1910s#10,9266
1970s#11,07359
1980s#6,857178
1990s#2,0381,535
2000s#1,3853,488
2010s#1,5443,326
2020s#1,7421,724
Greatest Generation 1901–270.1%
Generation X 1965–800.7%
Millennials 1981–965.2%
Generation Z 1997–1254.4%
2013 and later39.6%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Salma is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Salma has been most common in Minnesota (3.6×), Arizona (2.5×), and California (2.1×), and least common in Indiana (0.25×).

8,718 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Salma

#2,159 Lela · 12,330#2,160 Shiloh · 12,323#2,162 Tyra · 12,317#2,163 Rashad · 12,313

Spelled almost the same

4 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Salma, most common first.

#8,886 Salima · 1,602#17,966 Saloma · 605#30,089 Salama · 291#37,614 Salema · 207

Also a last name

As a last name, Salma ranks #61,890 of 156,621, with 350 people. See Salma as a last name

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