How Many People Are Named Salma?
An estimated 9,887 people in the United States have the first name Salma. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 17 years old, and Salma peaked in popularity in 1999 with 442 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Salma 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 Salma paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- Salma is a modern name. With an average bearer age of just 17, it has gained most of its popularity in recent years.
Estimated Living Americans
9,887
About 1 in 34,667 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Female
100.0% confidence
Average Age
17
years old
Peak Year
1999
442 births
Total Registered
10,037
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Salma
Salma is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 10,037 total births registered, 100.0% were female.
Salma as a male name
Ranked #13,850 in 2012
5 male births in 2012
Peak: 2012 (5 births)
Salma as a female name
Ranked #870 in 2024
310 female births in 2024
Peak: 1999 (442 births)
Salma: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Salma span from the 1910s to the 2020s, covering 7 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 2000s, when 3,488 babies were registered. While Salma is less common than at its peak in the 2000s, it remains a well-established name with steady registrations.
Salma by Decade
How has Salma 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.
Salma by State
Birth registrations for Salma span all 31 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Texas, New York. The lowest are in Nebraska, South Carolina, Kentucky. On average, about 273 Salmas were registered per state.
Salma + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Salma as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Salma
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
Salma: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Salma?
We estimate approximately 9,887 people named Salma 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 34,667 Americans share this first name.
Is Salma a common name?
Salma is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 97.7% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 10,037 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Salma most popular?
Salma reached peak popularity in 1999, when 442 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Salma is approximately 17 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Salma a female name?
Salma is predominantly female. 100.0% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Salma Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Salma Smith, Salma Johnson, Salma 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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