Salman
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Meaning
safe, secure (from salaam); famously borne by Salman Rushdie, novelist known for Midnight's Children
The story
Salman is an Arabic name from the same root as salaam, peace, usually glossed as safe or secure, and its roots run deep: Salman al-Farsi was a revered companion of the Prophet Muhammad in the seventh century. In modern letters the name means Salman Rushdie. His 1981 novel Midnight's Children, the story of children born at the exact moment of India's independence, won the Booker Prize and was later twice voted the best winner in the prize's history; his books braid history, myth, and mischief into a style that reshaped the English-language novel. The name is common across South Asia and the Middle East, yet in American records it barely registers, first charting in the 2020s. That leaves Salman a genuinely rare pick in the US: gentle in meaning, global in reach, and unmistakably literary.
How popular is Salman around the world?
In the United States, 438 babies were named Salman between 2020 and 2025. In France, about 65 boys named Salman were born in 2025, the 656th most common name among boys that year.
Salman is on the official records of the United States, France, England and Wales, Canada, Austria, Spain and Brazil.
United States
1 in 50,000
In the United States, 438 babies were named Salman between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Salman peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
France
1 in 9,900
In France, about 65 boys named Salman were born in 2025, the 656th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
England and Wales
1 in 25,000
In England and Wales, 23 boys named Salman were born in 2025, ranked 1,226th among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Canada
1 in 37,000
In Canada, 10 boys named Salman were born in 2024, ranked 1,964th among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Austria
1 in 38,000
In Austria, 2 boys named Salman were born in 2025, ranked 1,241st among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Spain
1 in 48,000
In Spain, 943 residents are named Salman, ranked 1,436th among men, with a mean age of 13.9 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 25 people in Brazil were named Salman, ranked 106,978th, with a median age of 34.
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Ireland
last on record 2024
Salman is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Norway
last on record 2024
Salman is not on the 2025 record for Norway, where names carried by fewer than 4 people in a year are withheld at source.
share of the boys on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
Poland
last on record 2014
Salman is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Scotland
last on record 2013
Salman is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
South Australia
last on record 2015
Salman is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Not on the record in Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico and New Zealand: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years.
When you meet Salman
Most people given the name Salman 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.
Keep exploring
The Salman deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Salman 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 Salman fits with your family’s names and surname.
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