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2025 data, released 8 May 2026

2025 data, released 8 May 2026

Selma

Selma was the 2810th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 61 babies. Its best year was 1891, when it ranked 163rd; the most babies were born in 1918 (798). Over the last ten years it has moved down 645 places. More babies were named Selma in the 1920s than in any other decade.

Meaning Origin uncertain · English, Scottish Gaelic, Arabic

Say it SEL-muh /ˈsɛlmə/

Rank in 2025
#2,810 girls, down 619 places since 2020
Babies in 2025
61girls
Girls and boys
Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
Peak year
1918798 babies
Total since 1880
27,202babies recorded

What does the name Selma mean?

Selma came into use in the 19th century, alongside similar names such as Thelma, Alma and Wilma. Wiktionary offers several explanations: a short form of Anselma, or a borrowing of Selma, a place in James Macpherson's Ossian poems, whose name he based on Gaelic words for "good view". In Turkish use it comes from the Arabic name Salma. It was most common in the US in the 1910s and 1920s.

sealladh + math (Scottish Gaelic, “view + good (via Ossian)”)سَلْمَى (Arabic, “Salma”)

How sure is this? Uncertain. Several unrelated sources are proposed; none is certain for American use.

Related names: Thelma, Alma, Anselma, Salma.

See also: English names.

Sources for this meaning

Selma popularity since 1880

02505007501k 1900192019401960198020002020
Girls Babies per year, US, from Social Security records. Years with fewer than 5 babies show as zero.

A few boys are given the name too: 321 since 1908.

YearRank (girls)Babies (girls)
2025#2,81061
2020#2,19183
2010#2,25286
2000#2,04981
1990#3,21135
1980#3,39525
1970#2,07340
1960#1,13093
1950#883102
1940#567150
1930#273550
1920#233768
1910#221293
1900#201239
1890#183165
1880#25936

How popular is Selma, counting every spelling?

Selma has no other common spelling that sounds the same.

How many kids will share the name Selma?

61 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Selma (0.02 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Selma born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 138 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Selma.

Chance of another Selma in a class of 20under 1 in 50US, born 2025
Most likely inNew Yorkunder 1 in 50 (2024)

Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.

How old are people named Selma?

About 5,900 people born in the US named Selma are alive today, with a median age of 51; half are between 19 and 75. That makes Selma mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties. The wide spread shows a name popular in two different eras.

0–910–1920–2930–3940–4950–5960–6970–7980–8990+
Estimated people alive in the US with the name, by age, mid-2026. The darker bar holds the median age.

Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.

Selma by state

How common Selma was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. In 47 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.

Alaska: fewer than 5 a yearAK–Maine: fewer than 5 a yearME–Wisconsin: fewer than 5 a yearWI–Vermont: fewer than 5 a yearVT–New Hampshire: fewer than 5 a yearNH–Washington: fewer than 5 a yearWA–Idaho: fewer than 5 a yearID–Montana: fewer than 5 a yearMT–North Dakota: fewer than 5 a yearND–Minnesota: fewer than 5 a yearMN–Illinois: fewer than 5 a yearIL–Michigan: fewer than 5 a yearMI–New York: 0.06 per 1,000 babiesNY0.06Massachusetts: fewer than 5 a yearMA–Oregon: fewer than 5 a yearOR–Nevada: fewer than 5 a yearNV–Wyoming: fewer than 5 a yearWY–South Dakota: fewer than 5 a yearSD–Iowa: fewer than 5 a yearIA–Indiana: fewer than 5 a yearIN–Ohio: fewer than 5 a yearOH–Pennsylvania: fewer than 5 a yearPA–New Jersey: fewer than 5 a yearNJ–Connecticut: fewer than 5 a yearCT–Rhode Island: fewer than 5 a yearRI–California: 0.04 per 1,000 babiesCA0.04Utah: fewer than 5 a yearUT–Colorado: fewer than 5 a yearCO–Nebraska: fewer than 5 a yearNE–Missouri: fewer than 5 a yearMO–Kentucky: fewer than 5 a yearKY–West Virginia: fewer than 5 a yearWV–Virginia: fewer than 5 a yearVA–Maryland: fewer than 5 a yearMD–Delaware: fewer than 5 a yearDE–Arizona: fewer than 5 a yearAZ–New Mexico: fewer than 5 a yearNM–Kansas: fewer than 5 a yearKS–Arkansas: fewer than 5 a yearAR–Tennessee: fewer than 5 a yearTN–North Carolina: fewer than 5 a yearNC–South Carolina: fewer than 5 a yearSC–District of Columbia: fewer than 5 a yearDC–Oklahoma: fewer than 5 a yearOK–Louisiana: fewer than 5 a yearLA–Mississippi: fewer than 5 a yearMS–Alabama: fewer than 5 a yearAL–Georgia: fewer than 5 a yearGA–Hawaii: fewer than 5 a yearHI–Texas: 0.02 per 1,000 babiesTX0.02Florida: 0.01 per 1,000 babiesFL0.01
Babies per 1,000 of the same sex, Selma, girls, 2021–2025. Darker means more common.

Names with a similar history

These names rose and fell in step with Selma: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Selma, they share its era and feel.

Middle names for Selma · Sibling names for Selma

Questions about the name Selma

What does Selma mean?

The origin of Selma is uncertain: several unrelated sources are proposed; none is certain for American use.

How popular is the name Selma?

Selma was the 2810th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 61 babies. Its best year was 1891, when it ranked 163rd; the most babies were born in 1918 (798). Over the last ten years it has moved down 645 places. More babies were named Selma in the 1920s than in any other decade.

Is Selma a boy or girl name?

In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Selma in the US.

Where is Selma most popular?

In 2021–2025, Selma was most common in New York (0.06 per 1,000 girls), followed by California and Texas.