Girls' name · since 1880
Selma
Selma has 26,881 recorded births since 1880 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1918 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #894 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #2,779 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 26,881
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
26,881 babies have been named Selma since 1880, making it today's #2779 girls' name.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Selma has been recorded 26,881 times among girls since 1880, currently ranked #2779 nationally and more common than 84% of girls, with its heaviest use in the 1920s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #894 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #2,779 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 26,881 born since 1880
- 1920s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Selma ranks #894 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #2,779 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 26,881 born since 1880, peaking in the 1920s.
- #894 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #2,779 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 26,881
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Selma's 26,881 recorded births place it above 98.76% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
43 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by New York.
How Selma compares
26,881 Top 6% higher than 94% 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
Selma's all-time total is 71x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Selma | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 26,881 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 798 | 21 | 19,840 |
Selma's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Selma's full recorded timeline at 1953, 17% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 83% in the earlier half -- the name was more prevalent in its earlier era than it is today. Its quietest year on record was 1985, with just 11 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1918 peak of 798 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Selma popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1918)
- 798
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Selma popularity over time - boys
321 total births recorded since 1908 (Selma as boys' name)
Selma by decade
1920s is the heaviest window (6,771 births, 25% of the file).
1920s was Selma's strongest decade.
6,771 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 25% of all-time use.
Selma births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 808
1880s
808 births
- 1890s 2,067
1890s
2,067 births
- 1900s 2,396
1900s
2,396 births
- 1910s
1910s
5,768 births
- 1920s
1920s
6,771 births
- 1930s
1930s
2,880 births
- 1940s 1,332
1940s
1,332 births
- 1950s 1,061
1950s
1,061 births
- 1960s 681
1960s
681 births
- 1970s 251
1970s
251 births
- 1980s 225
1980s
225 births
- 1990s 398
1990s
398 births
- 2000s 956
2000s
956 births
- 2010s 882
2010s
882 births
- 2020s 405
2020s
405 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 6,771 births (25% of all-time use).
How Selma 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 Selma's total volume
Selma by state
Where Selma concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 4,726 | 17.6% |
| #2 | Pennsylvania | | 1,344 | 5.0% |
| #3 | Texas | | 1,235 | 4.6% |
| #4 | North Carolina | | 878 | 3.3% |
| #5 | California | | 756 | 2.8% |
| #6 | Illinois | | 707 | 2.6% |
| #7 | Massachusetts | | 652 | 2.4% |
| #8 | New Jersey | | 649 | 2.4% |
4,726 of 26,881 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 43 reporting states.
Selma appears in 43 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Selma? ▼
Where does Selma sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Selma most popular? ▼
Where is Selma most popular? ▼
How long has the name Selma been used? ▼
What names are similar to Selma? ▼
What to do with Selma's data
- Selma's decade-level peak was the 1920s (6,771 total births); usage has since declined to 405 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- New York records the most Selmas (4,726 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New York names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Selma
Nearby Names Like Selma
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Selma
Compare Selma side by side: Selma vs Selena Selma vs Selina Selma vs Selah
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Selma
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Selma: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1918)
Similar record span (~145 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, 1880–2025 (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 Selma 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.