Selim
Masculine · “safe”
Selim is the Turkish of Salim — safe and whole — and three Ottoman sultans carried it.
How old is the name Selim?
Selim first appears in US birth records in 1971 — 54 years ago. The typical Selim is a kid of about 8 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,000 people named Selim are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Selim most popular?
Selim peaked in 2017, reaching #1871 nationally. Today it ranks #2604, 733 places below that high. See the whole 2017 chart.
Selim appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From s-l-m to Selim
The story of Selim
Selim I doubled the size of the Ottoman empire in eight years and took the caliphate from Cairo; Selim III tried to reform the army and was deposed for it. The root behind the name ties wholeness, safety and peace together across Arabic and Hebrew. Selim is in current American use.
Meaning
safe, whole, unharmed
From the Arabic salim, 'safe' or 'sound', from the root s-l-m, which gives salam, 'peace', and islam. Turkish fronts the first vowel to Selim. The Hebrew shalom is the same root. The Arabic is documented.
How the name formed
- s-l-m
- salim
- Selim
Related forms: Selim · سليم · Selim
Pronouncing Selim
seh-LEEM
Two syllables, stress on the second. Arabic Salim has a fuller first vowel.
Nicknames for Selim
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
- 1971
- Most boys named
- 201778 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1871reached in 2017
- Change vs 2024
- −21.9%50 in 2025, from 64
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.
Selim in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Selim in Turkish — same name
- سليم in Arabic — related form
- Selim in Bosnian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, California, Florida.
Selims among us
people named Selim are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 34,162 born in 2025 was named Selim
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 Efraim test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Selim's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Efraim climbed just as high around 1972, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Efraim's path sketches the road Selim is walking now.
Selim 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 Selim is headed
Selim 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.
Selim beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Selim 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.
- Two Ottoman sultans of consequence carried it.
- Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk in English.
- Salim is the Arabic form and looks different.
- It reads as specifically Turkish or Bosnian.
- Selim I's reign involved considerable bloodshed.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Selim to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Selim? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Selim
Masculine · #2604 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Selims are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,000 people named Selim are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Selim in 2025?
- Selim ranks #2604 among US boy names in 2025, with 50 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Selim?
- About 1 in every 34,162 US boys born in 2025 was named Selim — 50 in all.
- Will my child share the name Selim with classmates?
- Selim will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Selim
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Yahia#2604 · Larson#2604 · Mazin#2604 · Rowe#2604 · Hendrik#2604 · Dayvon#2604 · Kipton#2604 · Finlay#2604
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Selim? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Selim 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
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle