Selma
Likely a contracted form of Anselma, from the Germanic elements ans, referring to a god, and helm, a helmet. It was also borrowed from Selma, a hall in Macpherson's Ossian poems.
Selma in 2025
Selma was given to 61 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 4,947th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 54,350 babies born.
The history of Selma
Selma reached its highest point in 1918, when 811 babies were given the name, ranking 393rd that year. Its best-ever ranking was 243rd, in 1891.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 27,202 babies have been named Selma. Half of them were born before 1923, which places the name's centre of gravity with the Greatest Generation.
Selma by decade
| Decade | Babies named Selma | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 808 | 305 |
| 1890s | 2,067 | 243 |
| 1900s | 2,407 | 261 |
| 1910s | 5,863 | 319 |
| 1920s | 6,851 | 420 |
| 1930s | 2,950 | 495 |
| 1940s | 1,369 | 989 |
| 1950s | 1,084 | 1,382 |
| 1960s | 686 | 1,649 |
| 1970s | 251 | 3,246 |
| 1980s | 225 | 4,912 |
| 1990s | 398 | 3,694 |
| 2000s | 956 | 2,898 |
| 2010s | 882 | 3,316 |
| 2020s | 405 | 3,924 |
Where Selma is heading
Selma has fallen 31% over the past decade, from 88 babies in 2015 to 61 in 2025.
Names like Selma
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Selma.