Salman
Masculine · “safe”
Salman is safe in Arabic — from the root that gives salam and Islam — and Salman the Persian is the companion who suggested digging a trench.
How old is the name Salman?
Salman first appears in US birth records in 1974 — 51 years ago. The typical Salman alive today was born around 2012, making them about 13 years old. About 2,500 people named Salman are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Salman most popular?
Salman peaked in 2015, reaching #1259 nationally. Today it ranks #2480, 1,221 places below that high. See the whole 2015 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From s-l-m to Salman
The story of Salman
Salman al-Farisi left Persia searching for the true religion, was enslaved on the way, and became a companion of the Prophet; at the siege of Medina he proposed digging a trench, a Persian tactic the Arabs had not used, and it saved the city. The name is standard and is in current American use.
Meaning
safe, secure
From the Arabic salman, from the root s-l-m, 'to be safe or whole', which gives salam, 'peace', and islam, 'submission'. The Hebrew shalom is the same root. The Arabic is documented and the reading undisputed.
How the name formed
- s-l-m
- salman
- Salman
Related forms: سلمان · Salman · Selman
Pronouncing Salman
sal-MAHN
Two syllables, stress on the second. Turkish Selman has a fronted first vowel.
Nicknames for Salman
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
- 1974
- Most boys named
- 2015143 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1259reached in 2015
- Change vs 2024
- −26.0%54 in 2025, from 73
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.
Salman in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- سلمان in Arabic — transliteration
- Salman in Urdu — same name
- Selman in Turkish — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Minnesota, New York, Ohio.
Salmans among us
people named Salman are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 31,631 born in 2025 was named Salman
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 Dajon test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Salman's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Dajon climbed just as high around 1999, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Dajon's path sketches the road Salman is walking now.
Salman 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 Salman is headed
Salman 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.
Salman beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Salman in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That the trench at Medina was a Persian idea from this man is a first-rate fact.
- That shalom and salam are one root is a genuinely good connection.
- Sal is available as a short form with a real record.
- It reads as specifically Muslim.
- Salman and Selman are both in circulation.
- One novelist and one actor are strong associations.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Salman to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Salman
Masculine · #2480 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Salmans are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,500 people named Salman are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Salman in 2025?
- Salman ranks #2480 among US boy names in 2025, with 54 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Salman?
- About 1 in every 31,631 US boys born in 2025 was named Salman — 54 in all.
- Will my child share the name Salman with classmates?
- Salman will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Salman
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Arya#2480 · Kaeson#2480 · Demian#2480 · Marion#2480 · Florian#2480 · Niles#2480 · Hardy#2480 · Caine#2480
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Salman? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Salman and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
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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