Salih is a distinctive choice, ranked #1897 in 2025. Your child is likely to be the only Salih in their class.
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UK Rank 2025
#1897
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About the Name Salih
Salih has seen a notable decline in recent years, dropping 264 places in five years. It was most popular in 1996 at #1458 — parents choosing it today are making a deliberately counter-trend decision. The name has been a consistent presence in UK records since 1996.
Salih is uncommon in the UK, so your child is very likely to be the only Salih in their class.
⭐ Famous People Named Salih
Salih Mustafa — Salih Mustafa also known by the nickname "Cali", is a former Kosovo Albanian war commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) from the Guerilla BIA unit, which operated in the Llap region operative zone, particularly in parts of Gollak, Zllash during the…
Salih Özcan — Salih Özcan is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund.
Salih Uçan — Salih Uçan is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Beşiktaş.
Biographical summaries are shortened from Wikipedia and are used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence; those summaries remain available under that same licence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the name Salih
Unlikely. With around 13 UK babies named Salih per year, your child will almost certainly be the only Salih in their class, and possibly the only one in the whole school.
Salih has been fairly steady, ranked #1,897 in 2025 against #1,825 in 2020. Its best recorded position was #1,458 in 1996.
Salih is a distinctive choice sitting outside the mainstream UK top names. Parents choosing less common names often find their children appreciate the individuality as they grow up, rarely needing to add an initial to distinguish themselves.
Notable people named Salih include: Salih Mustafa, Salih Özcan and Salih Uçan. Short summaries for each appear below.
Salih does not appear in the US top 1,000 baby names, making it a distinctively British choice — your child is unlikely to encounter American Salihs in the wild.
13
UK babies named Salih (2025)
< 1
Expected classmates with this name (class of 28)
~0.0
In a school of 600
↓ 72 places
Rank change (last 5 years)
🏫 Who else is in the room?
In a typical UK class of 28, highlighted children share the name Salih
Almost certainly the only Salih in the class
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UK Popularity (1996–2025)
Rank and birth count · ONS official data
No US data available for this name
✨ Similar names to Salih
Names with a similar style — each with their own classroom story
Salih Mustafa also known by the nickname "Cali", is a former Kosovo Albanian war commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) from the Guerilla BIA unit, which operated in the Llap region operative zone, particularly in parts of Gollak, Zllash during the Kosovo War.
Barham Salih (Kurdish: بەرھەم ساڵح, romanized: Berhem Salih; Arabic: برهم صالح, romanized: Barham Ṣāliḥ; born 8 September 1960) is an Iraqi-Kurdish politician who has been serving as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees since 1 January 2026.