How Many People Are Named Salem?
An estimated 9,863 people in the United States have the first name Salem. It is used for both genders, with 57.4% female. The average bearer is 10 years old, and Salem peaked in popularity in 2023 with 1,174 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Salem as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Salem paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- Salem is a genuinely unisex name, given to both boys and girls in roughly equal numbers.
- Salem is a modern name. With an average bearer age of just 10, it has gained most of its popularity in recent years.
Estimated Living Americans
9,863
About 1 in 34,752 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Female
57.4% confidence
Average Age
10
years old
Peak Year
2023
1,174 births
Total Registered
10,058
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Salem
Salem is a genuinely unisex name, used for both males (42.6%) and females (57.4%). Out of 10,058 total births registered, 4,284 were male and 5,774 were female.
Salem as a male name
Ranked #634 in 2024
440 male births in 2024
Peak: 2023 (440 births)
Salem as a female name
Ranked #430 in 2024
715 female births in 2024
Peak: 2023 (734 births)
Salem: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Salem span from the 1910s to the 2020s, covering 12 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 2020s, when 5,172 babies were registered. Salem remains highly popular today, with recent registration numbers near its historical peak.
Salem by Decade
How has Salem tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Salem by State
Birth registrations for Salem span all 43 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Texas, North Carolina. The lowest are in New Hampshire, North Dakota, Maine. On average, about 162 Salems were registered per state.
Salem + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Salem as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Salem
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
Salem: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Salem?
We estimate approximately 9,863 people named Salem are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 34,752 Americans share this first name.
Is Salem a common name?
Salem is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 97.7% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 10,058 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Salem most popular?
Salem reached peak popularity in 2023, when 1,174 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Salem is approximately 10 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Salem a female name?
Salem is predominantly female. 57.4% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Salem Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Salem Smith, Salem Johnson, Salem Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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