Girls' name · since 1962
Selah
15,187 babies named Selah in U.S. Social Security records since 1962, with the highest year being 2025. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #1,276 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #216 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 15,187
- born since 1962
- 2010s
- peak decade
Yes -- Selah is the #216 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 15,187 recorded since 1962.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Selah has been recorded 15,187 times among girls since 1962, currently ranked #216 nationally and more common than 99% of girls, with its heaviest use in the 2010s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1962 to 2025.
- #1,276 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #216 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 15,187 born since 1962
- 2010s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Selah ranks #1,276 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #216 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 15,187 born since 1962, peaking in the 2010s.
- #1,276 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #216 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 15,187
- born since 1962
- 2010s
- peak decade
Selah's 15,187 recorded births place it above 98.23% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
48 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Selah compares
15,187 Top 8% higher than 92% of 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
Selah's all-time total is 40x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Selah | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 15,187 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 1,416 | 21 | 19,840 |
Selah's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Selah's full recorded timeline at 1998, 98% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 2% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1967, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 2025 peak of 1,416 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Selah popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1962–2025
- Peak year (2025)
- 1,416
- Annual births at peak, across 64 years of records
Selah popularity over time - boys
207 total births recorded since 1998 (Selah as boys' name)
Selah by decade
2010s is the heaviest window (6,176 births, 41% of the file).
2010s was Selah's strongest decade.
6,176 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 41% of all-time use.
Selah births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1960s 11
1960s
11 births
- 1970s 55
1970s
55 births
- 1980s 104
1980s
104 births
- 1990s 347
1990s
347 births
- 2000s
2000s
2,482 births
- 2010s
2010s
6,176 births
- 2020s
2020s
6,012 births
What this shows Peak: 2010s at 6,176 births (41% of all-time use).
How Selah compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Selah's total volume
Selah by state
Where Selah concentrates geographically, total births since 1962
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 1,841 | 12.1% |
| #2 | Texas | | 1,434 | 9.4% |
| #3 | Florida | | 929 | 6.1% |
| #4 | North Carolina | | 615 | 4.0% |
| #5 | Georgia | | 566 | 3.7% |
| #6 | Ohio | | 540 | 3.6% |
| #7 | Pennsylvania | | 518 | 3.4% |
| #8 | Michigan | | 513 | 3.4% |
1,841 of 15,187 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 48 reporting states.
Selah appears in 48 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Selah? ▼
Where does Selah sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Selah most popular? ▼
Where is Selah most popular? ▼
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What names are similar to Selah? ▼
What to do with Selah's data
- Selah's usage has stayed within range of its 2010s decade-level peak (6,176 total births) through the 2020s (6,012) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
- California records the most Selahs (1,841 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Selah
Nearby Names Like Selah
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Selah
Compare Selah side by side: Selah vs Selena Selah vs Selma Selah vs Selina
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Selah
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Selah: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2025)
Similar record span (~63 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, 1962–2025 (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 Selah 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.