Saleh
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Arabic, variant of Salih. From Iranian Persian صالح (sâleh) or directly from Arabic صَالِح (ṣāliḥ, literally “pious”).
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Saleh (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Saleh has been rising over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2018. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | 3 |
| 2005 | 2 |
| 2006 | 2 |
| 2007 | 4 |
| 2008 | 4 |
| 2009 | 3 |
| 2010 | 4 |
| 2011 | 2 |
| 2012 | 3 |
| 2013 | 3 |
| 2014 | 7 |
| 2015 | 7 |
| 2016 | 7 |
| 2017 | 9 |
| 2018 | 14 |
| 2019 | 10 |
| 2020 | 11 |
| 2021 | 8 |
| 2022 | 14 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 161 |
| 2000 | 166 |
| 2001 | 170 |
| 2002 | 179 |
| 2003 | 183 |
| 2004 | 191 |
| 2005 | 193 |
| 2006 | 219 |
| 2007 | 234 |
| 2008 | 254 |
| 2009 | 270 |
| 2010 | 282 |
| 2011 | 295 |
| 2012 | 314 |
| 2013 | 342 |
| 2014 | 394 |
| 2015 | 459 |
| 2016 | 585 |
| 2017 | 658 |
| 2018 | 699 |
| 2019 | 724 |
| 2020 | 742 |
Saleh in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Saleh.Hi! My name is Saleh.
- Har du träffat Saleh? Han började jobba här i måndags.Have you met Saleh? He started working here on Monday.
- Jag ska fika med Saleh i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Saleh this afternoon.
- Salehs mamma är lärare.Saleh's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Salehs mamma is Saleh's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Saleh
How do you pronounce Saleh in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Saleh in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Saleh mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Arabic, variant of Salih. From Iranian Persian صالح (sâleh) or directly from Arabic صَالِح (ṣāliḥ, literally “pious”).
How popular is Saleh in Sweden?
14 babies were named Saleh in 2022. In 2020, 742 people in Sweden had Saleh as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been rising lately and peaked in 2018 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.