Given name & surname
Zalman
“a peaceful man”
Zalman is a form of Solomon. One Hebrew interpretation is “a peaceful man.”
Original Hebrewזלמן
Meaning & origin
What it means
In Hebrew use, Zalman carries the interpretation “a peaceful man.” Zalman is a form of Solomon. One Hebrew interpretation is “a peaceful man.”
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Hebrew.
How it developed
Zalman is used as a form of Solomon.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1949. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Zalman is a form of Solomon. The history of Solomon gives this family its wider story. Solomon has a place in biblical naming traditions.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Zalman through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 687
- 687 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2021
- 27 babies
- 2025
- 21
- #4,855 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +38%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 21 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 4,855 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 37.6% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, New York had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (13). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 652 as a first name in 2020; 226 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.
Zalman’s family of names
Zalman is a form of Solomon. Zalman has a related form in Zulema. Zalman is a form of Zalmen.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Zalman has relatives in 5 languages. Lines run from its Hebrew roots to each of them.
Hebrewwhere Zalman comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 12
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Salomonvariant · French
- Zulemavariant
- Zalmannlikely variant
- Zulomavariant
- Zalemonvariant
- Zolemonvariant
- Zalomonvariant
- Zalemanvariant
Show 4 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 5
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 Zalman
- Zalman KingAmerican director, writer, producer, actor (1941-2012)1942–2012
- Shneur Zalman of LiadiLithuanian Orthodox Rabbi and first Rebbe of Chabad (1745–1812)
- Zal YanovskyCanadian singer (1944-2002)
- Zalman AranIsraeli politician (1899-1970)
- Zalman GradowskiAuschwitz Sonderkommando diarist1910–1944
- Zalman AbramovIsraeli politician (1908-1997)
- Zalman Reisenscholar of Yiddish language and literature, editor, journalist, and cultural activist (1887–1941)
- Zalman Nechemia GoldbergIsraeli rabbi and rabbinic judge1931–2020
- Zalman ShovalIsraeli diplomatborn 1930
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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