Girls' name · since 1969
Salimah
Since 1969, U.S. Social Security records show 281 babies named Salimah, peaking in 1998. See the year-by-year trend, decade totals, and state rankings below, sourced from federal birth data.
- #16,481 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #15,287 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 281
- born since 1969
- 1990s
- peak decade
Yes -- Salimah is the #15287 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 281 recorded since 1969.
Salimah has 281 recorded births among girls since 1969, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #15287 as of the latest data, more common than 12% of girls, busiest in the 1990s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1969 to 2025.
- #16,481 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #15,287 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 281 born since 1969
- 1990s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Salimah ranks #16,481 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #15,287 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 281 born since 1969, peaking in the 1990s.
- #16,481 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #15,287 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 281
- born since 1969
- 1990s
- peak decade
Salimah's 281 recorded births place it above 77.21% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.
How Salimah compares
281 44th percentile among 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Salimah's all-time total is 25% below the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Salimah | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 281 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 13 | 21 | 19,840 |
Salimah's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Salimah splits its recorded history at 1997: 50% of all births land in the more recent half, 50% in the earlier half, an evenly balanced pattern over time. The single quietest year was 1969 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1998 peak of 13 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Salimah popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1969–2025
- Peak year (1998)
- 13
- Annual births at peak, across 57 years of records
Salimah by decade
1990s is the heaviest window (70 births, 25% of the file).
1990s was Salimah's strongest decade.
70 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 25% of all-time use.
Salimah births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1960s 5
1960s
5 births
- 1970s
1970s
32 births
- 1980s
1980s
63 births
- 1990s
1990s
70 births
- 2000s
2000s
46 births
- 2010s
2010s
42 births
- 2020s 23
2020s
23 births
What this shows Peak: 1990s at 70 births (25% of all-time use).
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Salimah? ▼
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When was Salimah most popular? ▼
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What to do with Salimah's data
- Salimah's decade-level peak was the 1990s (70 total births); usage has since declined to 23 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Salimah
Nearby Names Like Salimah
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Salimah
Compare Salimah side by side: Salimah vs Sally Salimah vs Sallie Salimah vs Salma
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Salimah
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Salimah: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1998)
Similar record span (~56 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1969–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Salimah draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.