Salem

SAIL-em or sah-LEM

Biblical place-name or Arabic

"safe"

Salem Origin and Meaning

The name Salem is a boy's name meaning "safe".

Salem is a Biblical place name in Canaan, believed to be the same as Jerusalem, as well as the Massachusetts town famous for its late 17th century witch trials. Salem is also a popular first name in its own right throughout the Arabic world.

In the US, about 400 babies of both genders were named Salem last year, but it's difficult to say how many of those were given the Biblical place-name and how many the Arabic version of the name. About 40 percent of the Salems were boys, with a significant number of baby boys given an alternate spelling of the Arabic name, Salim.

One negative association of the name, the menthol cigarette, went out of business in 2019

Salem Rank in US Top 1000

# 634 in the US

Salem Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 558 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Salem

• 634 US 2024
• 558 Nameberry 2025
• 205 Unique 2018
• 648 Future 2028
• 22 Cats 2023

20 Names Similar to Salem

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

• Mars
• Ren
• Neo
• Sparrow
• Indigo
• Everest
• Aspen
• Aries
• Lux
• Wolf
• Nyx
• Aster
• Onyx
• Rue
• Zephyr
• Nova
• Eden
• Loki
• Jupiter
• Sage

The name Salem in Pop Culture

• Salem Oregon
• Salem Massachusetts, location of infamous Salem witch trials
• Salem another name for Jerusalem (Ps. 76:2)
• Salem Saberhagen the cat on "Sabrina the Teenage Witch"
• Salem cigarette brand