How rare is the name Selma?

9,055 people in the United States have the first name Selma, about 1 in 33,355. It ranks #2,627 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

SELMA

#2,627

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
9,055
About
1 in 33,355
This common or more
80.4%
Who bears it

Of the 9,055 people named Selma, 64.5% reported their origin as White, 16% as Hispanic or Latino and 14% as Black. 98.9% are female. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Selma peaked in 1918, when 811 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
1918
Births that year
811
In 2025*
61 ▼92%
Recorded as
almost entirely female

At least 27,202 babies have been given the name since 1880. 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.

Selma by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1890s, when it ranked #278. The largest share of babies named Selma, 50.4%, were born between 1901 and 1927, the Greatest Generation's birth years.

1880s#382808
1890s#2782,067
1900s#2932,407
1910s#3895,863
1920s#4626,851
1930s#6852,950
1940s#1,1711,369
1950s#1,6141,084
1960s#2,176686
1970s#4,624251
1980s#5,880225
1990s#4,987398
2000s#3,442956
2010s#3,870882
2020s#4,592405
Before 190111.4%
Greatest Generation 1901–2750.4%
Silent Generation 1928–4518.2%
Baby boom 1946–647.6%
Generation X 1965–801.9%
Millennials 1981–961.5%
Generation Z 1997–125.1%
2013 and later3.8%

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 Selma is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Selma has been most common in North Dakota (4.6×), New York (3.5×), and South Dakota (2.1×), and least common in West Virginia (0.21×).

17,140 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 Selma

#2,625 Coral · 9,062#2,625 Kaya · 9,062#2,628 Errol · 9,033#2,628 Mariel · 9,033

Spelled almost the same

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

#36,405 Selima · 218

Also a last name

As a last name, Selma ranks #119,572 of 156,621, with 153 people. See Selma as a last name

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