Salih
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Arabic. Borrowed from Arabic صَالِح (ṣāliḥ, literally “pious”).
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Salih (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, Salih has been fairly steady over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2006. 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 | 2 |
| 2005 | 4 |
| 2006 | 6 |
| 2007 | 3 |
| 2008 | 3 |
| 2009 | – |
| 2010 | 3 |
| 2011 | 2 |
| 2012 | 3 |
| 2013 | 2 |
| 2014 | 5 |
| 2015 | 4 |
| 2016 | 3 |
| 2017 | 2 |
| 2018 | 6 |
| 2019 | 5 |
| 2020 | – |
| 2021 | 5 |
| 2022 | 5 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 251 |
| 2000 | 266 |
| 2001 | 266 |
| 2002 | 271 |
| 2003 | 277 |
| 2004 | 278 |
| 2005 | 282 |
| 2006 | 294 |
| 2007 | 303 |
| 2008 | 316 |
| 2009 | 318 |
| 2010 | 331 |
| 2011 | 342 |
| 2012 | 353 |
| 2013 | 350 |
| 2014 | 367 |
| 2015 | 387 |
| 2016 | 396 |
| 2017 | 407 |
| 2018 | 418 |
| 2019 | 431 |
| 2020 | 434 |
Salih in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Salih.Hi! My name is Salih.
- Har du träffat Salih? Han började jobba här i måndags.Have you met Salih? He started working here on Monday.
- Jag ska fika med Salih i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Salih this afternoon.
- Salihs mamma är lärare.Salih's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Salihs mamma is Salih's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Salih
How do you pronounce Salih in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Salih in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Salih mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Arabic. Borrowed from Arabic صَالِح (ṣāliḥ, literally “pious”).
How popular is Salih in Sweden?
5 babies were named Salih in 2022. In 2020, 434 people in Sweden had Salih as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady lately and peaked in 2006 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.