How rare is the name Selah?

8,613 people in the United States have the first name Selah, about 1 in 35,067. It ranks #2,722 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census, tied with 1 other.

first name

SELAH

#2,722

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
8,613
About
1 in 35,067
This common or more
80.7%
Who bears it

Of the 8,613 people named Selah, 58.3% reported their origin as White, 16.4% as Hispanic or Latino and 11% as Black. 97.8% are female. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Selah peaked in 2025, when 1,429 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
19622025
Peak year
2025
Births that year
1,429
In 2025*
1,429
Recorded as
almost entirely female

At least 15,394 babies have been given the name since 1962. 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.

Selah by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 2020s, when it ranked #654. The largest share of babies named Selah, 70%, were born in 2013 or later.

1960s#14,41311
1970s#11,44455
1980s#9,796104
1990s#5,346359
2000s#1,7282,530
2010s#9806,247
2020s#6546,088
Baby boom 1946–640%
Generation X 1965–800.5%
Millennials 1981–961.7%
Generation Z 1997–1227.9%
2013 and later70%

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 Selah is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Selah has been most common in Colorado (2.2×), Arizona (2×), and Hawaii (2×), and least common in Massachusetts (0.22×).

13,771 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.

Exactly as common as Selah

1 other first name also has 8,613 people.

#2,722 Estefania · 8,613

Either side of Selah

#2,721 Landry · 8,615#2,722 Estefania · 8,613#2,724 Yahir · 8,608#2,725 Eliezer · 8,603

Spelled almost the same

One first name in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Selah, most common first.

#9,511 Sela · 1,456

Also a last name

As a last name, Selah ranks #98,894 of 156,621, with 196 people. See Selah as a last name

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