UK boy's name
Selim
A masculine Arabic name meaning "safe, secure or peaceful".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Selim is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Selim popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #1000, with 30 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2024, with 30 births.
This profile covers 236 England and Wales registrations across 21 recorded years from 1998 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
Selim is at its recorded peak in the England and Wales series.
We estimate that about 235 living people in the UK are called Selim. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Selim ranked #1000 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 30 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2024, when 30 boys were registered as Selim.
- • About 235 living people in the UK are estimated to have Selim as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#1000
2024
Births in 2024
30
Latest year
Peak year
2024
30 births
Estimated living
235
2026
Meaning
What does Selim mean?
The name Selim is of Arabic origin, derived from the word "salim" which means "safe," "peaceful," or "intact." It first gained popularity in the Islamic world during the medieval period.
Selim was the name of several notable historical figures, including Selim I, also known as Selim the Grim, who was the Ottoman Sultan from 1512 to 1520. He was responsible for expanding the Ottoman Empire into the Middle East, capturing territories from the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt and the Safavid Empire.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Selim II, the son of Suleiman the Magnificent, who ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1566 to 1574. During his reign, the Ottoman Empire reached its peak territorial extent, stretching from the Algerian border to the Caspian Sea.
In Persian literature, Selim is a prominent character in the epic poem "Shahnameh" (The Book of Kings) by the poet Ferdowsi. Selim was the son of Tur, the legendary king of Yemen, and his story revolves around his quest for vengeance against his brother, who had usurped the throne.
The name Selim also appears in the Quran, one of the central religious texts of Islam, where it is mentioned as a characteristic of the righteous and pious. This association with Islamic teachings and values may have contributed to the name's popularity among Muslims throughout history.
Other notable historical figures who bore the name Selim include Selim Pasha (1838-1915), an Ottoman military leader and statesman, and Selim III (1761-1808), the 28th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, who was known for his efforts to modernize and reform the empire.
Throughout the centuries, the name Selim has been widely used across various cultures and regions, particularly in the Middle East, Central Asia, and parts of South Asia, reflecting its rich historical and cultural significance.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Selim over time
The chart below shows babies named Selim registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1998 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Selim, the clearest high point is 2024. The latest England and Wales figure is 30 births in 2024, compared with 30 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Selim by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Selim was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #1491 | 92 | 5 |
| 2010s | #2132 | 111 | 10 |
| 2000s | #2675 | 28 | 5 |
| 1990s | #2074 | 5 | 1 |
Notable bearers
Famous people named Selim
-
Selim Süleyman Osmanoğlu
Ottoman noble (born 1979)
1979-
-
Selim Atakan
physician; composer; conductor; musician; music arranger
Turkish composer and musician (born 1951)
1951-
-
Selim Rothwell
painter
English painter (1812–1881)
1812-1881
Related
Names similar to Selim
- Samuel 108,505
- Sebastian 33,008
- Sam 20,889
- Stanley 16,354
- Sonny 15,028
- Sean 15,006
- Scott 12,587
- Seth 9,841
- Syed 9,050
- Stephen 8,884
- Spencer 8,333
- Steven 6,970
FAQ
Selim: questions and answers
How popular is the name Selim in the UK right now?
In 2024, Selim was ranked #1000 for boys in England and Wales, with 30 births registered.
When was Selim most popular?
The peak year on record was 2024, with 30 babies registered as Selim in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Selim?
A masculine Arabic name meaning "safe, secure or peaceful".
How many people are called Selim in the UK?
A total of 236 babies have been registered as Selim across the 21 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.