Salem
Meaning
"peace", from shalom; also a biblical place name
The story
Salem comes from the biblical place called Shalem, a name interpreted as complete, safe, or peaceful and often identified with Jerusalem. In Genesis, Melchizedek is king of Salem, giving the place an old and memorable role in the story of Abraham. English settlers later carried the name to towns in North America. Salem, Massachusetts, became inseparable in popular memory from the witch trials held there in 1692, but that later association is geography and history, not the name's meaning. The US curve has a small early trace, nearly disappears through the middle of the twentieth century, then returns in the 1970s and climbs steadily to its highest band in the 2020s. Salem's modern sound can feel mysterious or spare, while its documented root is a very old place name. The recent personal name turns biblical geography into a compact choice used for more than one sex.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Salem peaked in the 2020s.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
237 people · the #22,529 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 1,000,000 · median age 36
Among people named Salem living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Salem
Most people given the name Salem in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Salem deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Salem truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Salem fits with your family’s names and surname.
Keep exploring
Does Salem fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Salem to your family’s tree →