Baby Names US
Unisex name ★ peaked 2024

Salah

Meaning prayer Gender Unisex · 16% girls Rank 2025 #3,300 Trend → Stable

As an Islamic/Arabic surname, as well as a Jewish adoption of it, from صَلاة (ṣalāh, “prayer”) or صَلاح (ṣalāḥ, “righteousness”).

Rank 2025
#3,300
among boys · ↑209 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
58
named Salah · -6% vs 2024
How common
1 in 47,447
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2024
62 babies
All-time total
1,185
#5,168 all-time among boys
First recorded
1972
in Social Security records

Salah popularity over time

1,185 babies have been named Salah since 1972, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.010.020.020.0318801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – – – – – –
1920s – – – – – –
1930s – – – – – –
1940s – – – – – –
1950s – – – – – –
1960s – – – – – –
1970s – 22 22 2 – #4,881
1980s – 95 95 10 +332% #3,499
1990s – 122 122 12 +28% #3,531
2000s 49 246 295 30 +142% #3,209
2010s 27 313 340 34 +15% #2,652
2020s (to 2025) 119 192 311 52 +52% #3,169

Where Salah is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 36 0.02 outside top 500
2027 36 0.02 outside top 500
2028 36 0.02 outside top 500
2029 36 0.02 outside top 500
2030 36 0.02 outside top 500

The story of Salah

Salah is rare for boys in the United States, ranked #3,300 in 2025 with 36 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1972, 1,185 American babies have been named Salah, about 84% boys and 16% girls, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2024, when 62 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Salah stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Salah?

The median living Salah is about 13 years old; half are between 5 and 22. An estimated 1,200 people named Salah are alive in the United States today.

median 13 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Salah year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 22 #5,681 36 #3,300
2024 29 #4,758 33 #3,509
2023 21 #5,922 39 #3,169
2022 16 #7,237 32 #3,600
2021 25 #5,216 26 #4,105
2020 6 #14,815 26 #4,007
2019 7 #13,571 49 #2,652
2018 – – 38 #3,094
2017 – – 25 #4,210
2016 10 #10,714 29 #3,758
2015 – – 29 #3,761
2014 – – 35 #3,206
2013 – – 18 #5,136
2012 10 #11,114 27 #3,870
2011 – – 30 #3,585
2010 – – 33 #3,364
2009 10 #11,326 30 #3,622
2008 5 #19,922 26 #4,011
2007 8 #13,692 31 #3,494
2006 6 #16,732 34 #3,209
2005 8 #12,793 29 #3,437
2004 7 #13,905 26 #3,618
2003 – – 22 #3,953
2002 5 #17,582 23 #3,760
2001 – – 12 #5,952
2000 – – 13 #5,524
1995 – – 9 #6,321
1990 – – 9 #5,731
1985 – – 6 #6,387
1980 – – 11 #3,804
1975 – – – –
1970 – – – –
1965 – – – –
1960 – – – –
1955 – – – –
1950 – – – –
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Salah

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Salah Abdeslam Salah Abdeslam Belgian-born French terrorist (born 1989) Contemporary
  2. 2 Salah Jadid Salah Jadid Syrian military officer and politician (1926–1993) Contemporary
  3. 3 Salah al-Din al-Bitar Salah al-Din al-Bitar Syrian politician (1912–1980) Contemporary
  4. 4 Salah Mejri Salah Mejri Tunisian basketball player (born 1986) Contemporary
  5. 5 Salah Assad Salah Assad Algerian footballer (born 1958) Contemporary
  6. 6 Salah Hissou Moroccan long-distance runner b. 1972 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Salah, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Salah?

The median living Salah is about 13 years old. Half of all living Salahs are between 5 and 22 years old.

How many people named Salah are alive today?

An estimated 1,200 people named Salah are alive in the United States, based on 1,185 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Salah mean?

As an Islamic/Arabic surname, as well as a Jewish adoption of it, from صَلاة (ṣalāh, “prayer”) or صَلاح (ṣalāḥ, “righteousness”).

How popular is the name Salah in 2025?

Salah ranked #3,300 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 36 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Salah?

1,185 babies have been named Salah in the United States since 1972, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Salah most popular?

Salah peaked in 2024, when 62 newborns received the name.

Is Salah a boy or girl name?

Salah is used for both: about 16% of babies named Salah have been girls and 84% boys.

Is the name Salah rising or falling?

Salah is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Salah become more popular?

Salah looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 36 boys named Salah in 2030, ranking outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Salah?

Well-known people named Salah include Salah Abdeslam (mafioso), Salah Jadid (politician), Salah al-Din al-Bitar (politician).

Names like Salah

Names that sound and feel close to Salah: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Salah with similar names → More names starting with S →