Given name & surname
Salah
“a righteous man”
Salah is used as a given name and a surname. One Arabic interpretation is “a righteous man.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Arabic interpretation is “a righteous man.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Arabic.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1972. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Salah through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,185
- 990 boys · 195 girls
- Most popular year
- 2024
- 62 babies
- 2025
- 58
- #3,300 for boys · #5,681 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +47%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 36 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 3,300 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 0.6% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 49 in 2019. It also appeared in 22 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, New York had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (6). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 3,052 as a first name in 2020; 2,698 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Salah’s family of names
Salah has a related form in Saleh. Salah has a related form in Sala. Salah has a related form in Sala.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Salah has relatives in 3 languages. Lines run from its Arabic roots to each of them.
3 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Salah
- Salah JadidSyrian major general1926–1993
- Salah al-Din al-BitarSyrian politician (1912-1980)
- Salah MejriTunisian basketball player (born 1986)
- Salah AssadAlgerian footballerborn 1958
- Salah HissouMoroccan long-distance runnerborn 1972
- Salah ShehadePalestinian leader (1953-2002)
- Salah ZulfikarEgyptian actor and producer (1926–1993)
- Salah ZakariaQatari footballerborn 1999
- Salah KhalafPalestinian Fatah senior official (1933–1991)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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