Given name & surname
Saleh
“a righteous man”·“a good man”
Saleh is a variant of Salah. One Arabic interpretation is “a righteous man.” Saleh is a variant of Salehe. One African interpretation is “a good man.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Saleh is a variant of Salah. One Arabic interpretation is “a righteous man.” Saleh is a variant of Salehe. One African interpretation is “a good man.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Saleh is a variant of Salah. An origin associated with Salah is Arabic. Saleh is a variant of Salehe. An origin associated with Salehe is African.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
From Iranian Persian صالح (sâleh), from Arabic صَالِح (“pious”); its root is Arabic ص ل ح.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1974. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Saleh through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,783
- 1,777 boys · 6 girls
- Most popular year
- 2018
- 83 babies
- 2025
- 55
- #2,472 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- 0%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 55 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 2,472 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 1.7% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 83 in 2018. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (13). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 3,308 as a first name in 2020; 15,083 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.
Saleh’s family of names
Saleh has a related form in Salah. Saleh has a related form in SALIH. Saleh has a related form in Salehe.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 5
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Saleh
- Saleh al-Arourisenior leader of Hamas (1966-2024)
- Saleh Al-ShehriSaudi footballerborn 1993
- Saleh KebzaboChadian politicianborn 1947
- Saleh El-SharabatyJordanian taekwondo practitionerborn 1998
- Saleh al-JafarawiPalestinian journalist, media personality and content creator (1997–2025)
- Saleh Ali al-Sammadformer head of the Houthi Supreme Political Council1979–2018
- Saleh GomaaEgyptian association football playerborn 1993
- Saleh HardaniIranian association football playerborn 1996
- Saleh Al-DawodSaudi Arabian footballerborn 1968
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Saleh, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.