NameRealm
Salem

Salem: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“peace”
Origin
Hebrew
Say it
SAY-ləm · 2 syllables
Used for
Both (57% girls, 43% boys since 1880)

From Hebrew shalem/shalom-related forms meaning 'peace' or 'complete'; compare Arabic salim/salaam roots. Salem is also the biblical place-name traditionally identified with Jerusalem.

Hebrew namesArabic namesNames meaning peaceNames meaning faithBiblical namesInternational names

How popular is Salem?

2024347 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Salem in 20241,155

2024 rank#429 girls

Peak year2023

Total US babies since 188010,058

Salem is rising: use over the last five years is 6.7× what it was a decade earlier.

Names like Salem

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Jordanto flow down · Hebrew
  • Shilohpossibly tranquil, or place name of Shiloh · Hebrew
  • Ariellion of God · Hebrew
  • Arilion · Hebrew
  • AzariahYahweh has helped · Hebrew
  • Jamiesupplanter · Hebrew
  • JessieGod beholds · Hebrew
  • Jaimesupplanter · Hebrew

Salem questions

What does the name Salem mean?

Salem means "peace". It comes from Hebrew. From Hebrew shalem/shalom-related forms meaning 'peace' or 'complete'; compare Arabic salim/salaam roots. Salem is also the biblical place-name traditionally identified with Jerusalem.

Is Salem a boy or girl name?

Salem is used for both: about 57% of US babies named Salem since 1880 were girls.

How popular is Salem?

1,155 US babies were named Salem in 2024. Its peak year was 2023.

How do you pronounce Salem?

Salem is usually pronounced SAY-ləm.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.