Salim
Masculine · “safe”
Salim is whole and unharmed in Arabic — from the root that also gives salam, peace, and Islam itself.
How old is the name Salim?
Salim first appears in US birth records in 1960 — 65 years ago. The typical Salim alive today was born around 2006, making them about 19 years old. About 1,900 people named Salim are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Salim most popular?
Salim peaked in 1980, reaching #1655 nationally. Today it ranks #2304, 649 places below that high. See the whole 1980 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From s-l-m to Salim
The story of Salim
The root s-l-m ties wholeness, safety, peace and submission together across Arabic and Hebrew alike — shalom and salam are the same word. Salim was the birth name of the Mughal emperor Jahangir. It is standard across Muslim naming and appears in American records in current use.
Meaning
safe, whole, unharmed
From the Arabic salim, 'safe' or 'sound', from the root s-l-m, which gives salam, 'peace', and islam, 'submission'. The Hebrew shalom is the same root. The primary sense is wholeness rather than the absence of conflict. The Arabic is documented.
How the name formed
- s-l-m
- salim
- Salim
Related forms: سليم · Selim · Salim
Pronouncing Salim
sah-LEEM
Two syllables, stress on the second. Turkish Selim has a fronted first vowel.
Nicknames for Salim
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1960
- Most boys named
- 202365 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1655reached in 1980
- Change vs 2024
- +20.0%60 in 2025, from 50
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Salim in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- سليم in Arabic — transliteration
- Selim in Turkish — related form
- Salim in Urdu — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, Minnesota, California.
Salims among us
people named Salim are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 28,468 born in 2025 was named Salim
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Tonny test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Salim's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Tonny climbed just as high around 1964, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Tonny's path sketches the road Salim is walking now.
Salim sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Salim is headed
Salim should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Salim beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Salim in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That shalom and salam are the same root is a first-rate fact.
- The wholeness meaning is subtler than 'peaceful' suggests.
- Sal is available as a short form with a real record.
- Salim and Saleem are both in circulation.
- It reads as specifically Muslim.
- Selim is the Turkish form and looks different.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Salim to the vote.
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What they receive
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Salim
Masculine · #2304 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Salims are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,900 people named Salim are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Salim in 2025?
- Salim ranks #2304 among US boy names in 2025, with 60 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Salim?
- About 1 in every 28,468 US boys born in 2025 was named Salim — 60 in all.
- Will my child share the name Salim with classmates?
- Salim will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Salim
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Zian#2304 · Avion#2304 · Lex#2304 · Joab#2304 · Ahmari#2304 · Daxon#2304 · Enoc#2304 · Paris#2304
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Salim? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Salim and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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