Given name & surname
Selah
“to hang”
Selah is a feminine given name from Biblical Hebrew.
Meaning & origin
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1962. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Selah through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 15,394
- 207 boys · 15,187 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 1,429 babies
- 2025
- 1,429
- #216 for girls · #6,741 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +49%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 1,416 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 216 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 49.5% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 13 birth records for boys in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (155). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 8,613 as a first name in 2020; 196 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.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
See also 3
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Selah
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Selah, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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Miika
Miika is a masculine given name from Biblical Hebrew. It is used in Finnish.
>99% girls