Selma
Girl name · 3 babies recorded · 1974–2025
Selma: 3 babies born in Scotland since 1974, given to girls, peaking at 3 births in 2015.
Of Arabic origin, Selma means "peaceful" or "safe," derived from the root *s-l-m* which also gives us the word "Islam." It is also sometimes linked to the Germanic element *helm*, meaning "helmet" or "protection," making it a name of layered, cross-cultural strength. One of its most famous bearers is Selma Lagerlöf, the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature (1909), beloved for her children’s classic *The Wonderful Adventures of Nils*. The name also gained cinematic fame through actress Selma Blair and the historic Selma Marches in Alabama, which share the same spelling but draw from a different Gaelic-derived place name. In Scotland, Selma has been a quietly steady choice, never hugely popular but always present, offering a soft, international feel without straying too far from traditional phonetic roots.
Girl 1 of 52 years
- Peak year
- 20153 babies
- Latest (2015)
- #8063 babies
- Total births
- 3since 2015
- 5-year trend
- ≈ stablevs prior 5y