Zulema
Feminine · “peaceful”
Zulema is a Spanish form of Sulayma — from the Arabic root for peace, the one behind salam and Islam.
How old is the name Zulema?
Zulema first appears in US birth records in 1889 — 136 years ago. The typical Zulema alive today was born around 1993, making them about 32 years old. About 3,600 people named Zulema are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Zulema most popular?
Zulema peaked in 1889, reaching #1279 nationally. Today it ranks #2691, 1,412 places below that high. See the whole 1889 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From s-l-m to Zulema
The story of Zulema
Eight centuries of Arabic rule in Spain left several thousand words and a set of names, Zulema and Zoraida among them; the root behind it ties wholeness, safety and peace together across Arabic and Hebrew. Zulema appears in Spanish-speaking and American records in current use.
Meaning
peaceful
From the Arabic Sulayma, a diminutive feminine of the root s-l-m, 'to be safe or whole', which gives salam, 'peace', and islam. Spanish took it during the Andalusi period. The Hebrew shalom is the same root. The Arabic is documented.
How the name formed
- s-l-m
- Sulayma
- Zulema
Related forms: Zulema · سليمة · Zuleima
Pronouncing Zulema
soo-LEH-mah
Three syllables, stress in the middle. Spanish gives the z an s sound in Latin American use.
Nicknames for Zulema
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
- 1889
- Most girls named
- 199595 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1279reached in 1889
- Change vs 2023
- +20.8%64 in 2025, from 53
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.
Zulema in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Zulema in Spanish — same name
- سليمة in Arabic — related form
- Zuleima in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Illinois.
Zulemas among us
people named Zulema are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 25,114 born in 2025 was named Zulema
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Zulema 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 Zulema is headed
Zulema 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.
Zulema beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Zulema in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That shalom and salam are the same root is a first-rate fact.
- It records the Arabic layer in Spanish naming, which is a real history.
- Three syllables of open vowels, which carries unusually well.
- The z is said as an s in Latin American Spanish.
- Several spellings are in circulation.
- It reads as specifically Spanish-speaking.
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What they receive
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Zulema
Feminine · #2691 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Zulemas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,600 people named Zulema are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Zulema in 2025?
- Zulema ranks #2691 among US girl names in 2025, with 64 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Zulema?
- About 1 in every 25,114 US girls born in 2025 was named Zulema — 64 in all.
- Will my child share the name Zulema with classmates?
- Zulema will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Zulema
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Maricela#2691 · Annmarie#2691 · Layana#2691 · Meher#2691 · Cyra#2691 · Aeris#2691 · Adelyne#2691 · Sable#2691
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Zulema? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Zulema and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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