Salma

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled ซัลมา in TH Thailand.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 11 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Salma is also recorded as 7 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• French given name181K records spelled Salma82 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, Spain, Brazil, Mexico

  Languages: French, Spanish, Portuguese

  Also written Sälmä, Sãlmã, Sàlmà, Sãlmä, Sâlmâ

• Indonesian given name52K records spelled Salma11 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Morocco

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written 'Salma, Šalma, Sàlmà, Sälmä, Saĺma

• Turkish given name6.3K records spelled Salma26 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Türkiye, Syria, India, Morocco

  Languages: Turkish, Uzbek, Azerbaijani

  Also written Салма, Şalma, Sãlmä, Şäĺmã, Šålmä

• Russian given name5.4K records spelled Salma82 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Russia, Kazakhstan, Poland, Czechia

  Languages: Russian, Polish, Kazakh

  Also written Сальма, Салма, Sal'Ma, Sãlmä, Šalmã

• a separate given name4.9K records spelled Salma3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in India, United States, Morocco, Tunisia

  Also written Salmá, Salmā

• Norwegian Bokmål given name4.7K records spelled Salma12 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Norway, Denmark, Tanzania, Morocco

  Languages: Norwegian Bokmål, Danish, Norwegian

  Also written Sàlmà, Sãlmã, Salmá, Śàlmâ, Sälmâ

• Finnish given name3.8K records spelled Salma30 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Finland, India, Morocco, United States

  Languages: Finnish, Estonian

  Also written Sälma, Sàlmà, Šâĺmâ, Sälmä, Sålmä

39 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Salma is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• The Hebrew name Salma (שַׂלְמָא) is likely derived from a word meaning "garment" or "mantle".

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• In biblical genealogies, Salma serves as a crucial link connecting the lineage of Judah to the historically and prophetically significant town of Bethlehem. His role as the town's founder foreshadows its importance in the future of Israel, particularly as the ancestral home of King David and the prophesied birthplace of the Messiah.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• In Swedish, Salma är ett arabiskt namn som betyder ’oskadad, frisk’. En variantform är → Selma. En känd namnbärare är den mexikansk-amerikanska skådespelerskan Salma Hayek (f. 1966).

  as a name·Förnamn i Sverige. Kortfattat namnlexikon

• In Arabic, peace; feminine of Salm

  as a name·A Dictionary of Muslim Names

• In Arabic, pacifist, peaceful

  as a name·A Dictionary of Muslim Names

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

IN naampy — India given names from state electoral rolls (in-rolls) — 106 years between 1899–2017. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Salma Khadra Jayyusib. 1926PSPalestinian poet, writer, translator and anthologist (1926–2023)
• Salma Aghab. 1956GBactress, singer
• Salma Hayekb. 1966MXMexican and American actress (born 1966)
• Salma Yaqoobb. 1971GBBritish politician (born 1971)
• Lalla Salmab. 1978MAMoroccan royal
• Salma De Norab. 1979ESSpanish pornographic actress
• Princess Salma bint Abdullah of Jordanb. 2000JOJordanian Royal
• Salma Paralluelob. 2003ESSpanish association football player
• Salma bint AmrSAGreat-grandmother of Islamic prophet Muhammad
• Salma Eddlimiactress

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,011 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Salma?

We estimate roughly 160 thousand people bear Salma (counting its spellings and scripts) across 11 countries in our records.

In which country does Salma have the most bearers?

Salma is most frequently recorded in Bangladesh, where it is most often spelled salma.

How common is Salma compared with other names?

In Bangladesh, Salma is the 7th most common given name of 28,624 given names recorded there.

Is Salma a male or female name?

Salma is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Salma mean?

Recorded meaning: Salma is a biblical name of Hebrew origin meaning "garment."