Selma

German

"godly helmet"

Selma Origin and Meaning

The name Selma is a girl's name of German origin meaning "godly helmet".

Selma has recently been given a more youthful spin via actresses Selma Blair and Salma Hayek. But while Selma has not yet become popular again in the US, it is widely used in both Sweden and Norway.

Selma won a Nobel Prize via Swedish author Selma Lagerlof, the first woman to win for literature. And the city of Selma, Alabama is famous as the starting point for the Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches, led by Dr Martin Luther King Jr. The 2014 film Selma, based on the marches, gave the name a slight boost in the same year.

Selma Rank in US Top 1000

# 947 in the US

Popularity of the name Selma

• 1519 Nameberry 2024
• 228 Germany 2016
• 7 sweden 2024
• 9 Norway 2024
• 37 Finland 2024
• 177 switzerland 2019

20 Names Similar to Selma

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Selma.

• Lorna
• Mona
• Muriel
• Rhoda
• Frieda
• Pia
• Brigitte
• Wilma
• Louella
• Béatrice
• Liesl
• Emmanuelle
• Elsbeth
• Cecile
• Wilhelmine
• Lilibet
• Tilda
• Eunice
• Marcie
• Claudette

Famous People Named Selma

• Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf Swedish author; 1st woman to win Literature Nobel Prize
• Selma Adzem Bosnian singer
• Selma Bajrami Albanian,Bosnian pop star
• Selma Blair American actress
• Selma Björnsdóttir Icelandic singer
• Selma Ergec Turkish,German actress, beauty queen, & doctor
• Selma Harrington Bosnian,Irish architect & designer
• Selma Kurz Austrian opera singer
• Selma Mekic Bosnian TV host
• Selma Yagci Turkish boxer
• Selma Diamond American actress

The name Selma in Pop Culture

• Selma Bouvier character on "The Simpsons;" twin of sister Patty
• Selma Malet character in Mary A. Dickens' "Cross Currents"
• Selma character in Kenize Mourad's "Regards from the Dead Princess"
• Selma character on "The Crazy, Confused & Normal"
• Selma Ježková main character in the musical "Dancer in the Dark"
• Selma St. George character in Stephen King's Dolores Claiborne
• Selma Quickly Character in the Nanny McPhee series
• Selma city in Alabama
• "Selma " 2014 film about the civil rights march in Selma, Alabama