Salma
Meaning and origin
Borrowed from Arabic سَلْمَى (salmā).
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Salma (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, Salma has been falling over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2013. 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 | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 11 |
| 1999 | 14 |
| 2000 | 15 |
| 2001 | 19 |
| 2002 | 27 |
| 2003 | 16 |
| 2004 | 23 |
| 2005 | 34 |
| 2006 | 28 |
| 2007 | 35 |
| 2008 | 45 |
| 2009 | 37 |
| 2010 | 47 |
| 2011 | 37 |
| 2012 | 42 |
| 2013 | 61 |
| 2014 | 51 |
| 2015 | 44 |
| 2016 | 50 |
| 2017 | 55 |
| 2018 | 50 |
| 2019 | 37 |
| 2020 | 34 |
| 2021 | 32 |
| 2022 | 29 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 167 |
| 2000 | 187 |
| 2001 | 216 |
| 2002 | 245 |
| 2003 | 266 |
| 2004 | 286 |
| 2005 | 325 |
| 2006 | 363 |
| 2007 | 410 |
| 2008 | 468 |
| 2009 | 538 |
| 2010 | 597 |
| 2011 | 651 |
| 2012 | 720 |
| 2013 | 855 |
| 2014 | 956 |
| 2015 | 1,049 |
| 2016 | 1,175 |
| 2017 | 1,272 |
| 2018 | 1,363 |
| 2019 | 1,422 |
| 2020 | 1,461 |
Salma in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Salma.Hi! My name is Salma.
- Salma ringde och sa att hon blir lite sen.Salma called and said she'll be a bit late.
- Jag ska fika med Salma i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Salma this afternoon.
- Salmas mamma är lärare.Salma's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Salmas mamma is Salma's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Salma
How do you pronounce Salma in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Salma in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Salma mean?
Borrowed from Arabic سَلْمَى (salmā).
How popular is Salma in Sweden?
29 babies were named Salma in 2022. In 2020, 1,461 people in Sweden had Salma as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been falling lately and peaked in 2013 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.