Given name & surname
Salima
“one who is healthy and safe”
Salima is used as a given name and a surname. One Arabic interpretation is “one who is healthy and safe.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Arabic interpretation is “one who is healthy and safe.”
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 1969. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Salima through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 598
- 0 boys · 598 girls
- Most popular year
- 2018
- 22 babies
- 2025
- 17
- #6,785 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +23%
- Rising
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 17 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 6,785 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 22.7% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 22 in 2018. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,602 as a first name in 2020; 174 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.
Salima’s family of names
Salima has a related form in Salma. Salima has a related form in Salma. Salima has a related form in Salim.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 15
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Salima
- Salima GhezaliAlgerian writer and journalist journalistborn 1958
- Salima IkramPakistani egyptologistborn 1965
- Salima MukansangaRwandan football refereeborn 1988
- Salima Sultan Begumthird wife of the Mughal Emperor Akbar (1539–1613)
- Salima SouakriAlgerian judokaborn 1974
- Salima Machambalast monarch (sultan/queen regnant) of Mohéli (Mwali) (1874-1964)
- Salima HashmiPakistani artist, cultural writer, painter and an anti-nuclear weapon activistborn 1942
- Salima TeteIndian field hockey playerborn 2001
- Salima YenbouFrench politicianborn 1971
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Salima, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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