Selim
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Arabic سليم.
Source: Wiktionary, Swedish entry for Selim (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Selim has been falling over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2016. 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 | – |
| 2005 | – |
| 2006 | 2 |
| 2007 | 4 |
| 2008 | 2 |
| 2009 | 3 |
| 2010 | – |
| 2011 | 3 |
| 2012 | 5 |
| 2013 | 6 |
| 2014 | 3 |
| 2015 | 9 |
| 2016 | 10 |
| 2017 | 8 |
| 2018 | 6 |
| 2019 | 7 |
| 2020 | 4 |
| 2021 | 5 |
| 2022 | 4 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 171 |
| 2000 | 179 |
| 2001 | 187 |
| 2002 | 190 |
| 2003 | 193 |
| 2004 | 199 |
| 2005 | 206 |
| 2006 | 207 |
| 2007 | 213 |
| 2008 | 221 |
| 2009 | 225 |
| 2010 | 227 |
| 2011 | 235 |
| 2012 | 244 |
| 2013 | 248 |
| 2014 | 258 |
| 2015 | 266 |
| 2016 | 283 |
| 2017 | 300 |
| 2018 | 314 |
| 2019 | 322 |
| 2020 | 334 |
Selim in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Selim.Hi! My name is Selim.
- Selim ringde och sa att han blir lite sen.Selim called and said he'll be a bit late.
- Vet du om Selim kommer på festen på lördag?Do you know if Selim is coming to the party on Saturday?
- Selims mamma är lärare.Selim's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Selims mamma is Selim's mum.
More names
Questions about Selim
How do you pronounce Selim in Swedish?
In IPA, Selim is [sɛː.lɪm]. Press Listen at the top of the page to hear it in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Selim mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Arabic سليم.
How popular is Selim in Sweden?
4 babies were named Selim in 2022. In 2020, 334 people in Sweden had Selim as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been falling lately and peaked in 2016 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.