girl's name
Selma
SEL-muh
- Origin German
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 40,666
France
#250
2025 births
Selma may have been invented by a forger — the name appears in Macpherson's Ossian poems of the 1760s, which he presented as ancient Gaelic epic and largely wrote himself. Two unrelated lines also feed it, the Germanic Anselma and the Arabic Salma.
- Selma is a name of German origin.
- Peaked in 1918, when 811 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 54,351 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Selma over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 808 |
| 1890s | 2,067 |
| 1900s | 2,407 |
| 1910s | 5,863 |
| 1920s | 6,851 |
| 1930s | 2,950 |
| 1940s | 1,369 |
| 1950s | 1,084 |
| 1960s | 686 |
| 1970s | 251 |
| 1980s | 225 |
| 1990s | 398 |
| 2000s | 956 |
| 2010s | 882 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 405 |
What Selma means
Selma has no single settled meaning. It is either a place invented for a literary hoax, a short form of Anselma meaning God's helmet, or an Arabic word for safe.
Where Selma comes from
Selma has at least three unrelated sources. James Macpherson used it as the name of Fingal's hall in the Ossian poems he published in the 1760s and claimed to have translated from ancient Gaelic; the poems were largely his own work and the name has no earlier record. Separately it shortens the Germanic Anselma — ans, a god, joined to helm, a helmet. A third line is the Arabic Salma, safe or unharmed.
Selma in use
Selma peaked in the United States in 1918, when 811 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It now ranks 250th in France on 225 births — its strongest market by a wide margin — then 2404th in England and Wales on 12 and 2810th in the United States on 61, across 40,666 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track. France ran its own peak of 555 births in 2011.
How popular is Selma?
In 2025, Selma was given to 61 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Selma is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Selma
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Selma also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Selma over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Selma in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Arabic
- Salma
Sibling names for Selma
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Selma — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Selma
What does the name Selma mean?
Unsettled — an Ossian place name, a short form of Anselma, or the Arabic for safe.
What were the Ossian poems?
Macpherson published them in the 1760s as ancient Gaelic epic; they were largely his own work.
Is Salma the same name?
A separate Arabic line meaning safe, which some bearers descend from.
Where is Selma strongest?
France at 250th, far ahead of every other market we track.
How popular is the name Selma?
In 2025, Selma was given to 61 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Is Selma a girl's or a boy's name?
Selma is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Selma?
Selma has 2 syllables.
When was Selma most popular?
Selma peaked in 1918, when 811 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
Is Selma a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Selma currently ranks #250 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.