Selma is a distinctive choice, ranked #2001 in 2024. Your child is likely to be the only Selma in their class.
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UK Rank 2024
#2001
About the Name Selma
Selma is climbing rapidly up the charts, having climbed 162 places in just five years. Its best recorded rank was #1082 in 2005 — and current momentum suggests it could challenge that mark again. The name has been a consistent presence in UK records since 1996.
Selma is distinctive enough that your child will likely be the only one in both their class and their school — standing out on every register.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the name Selma
Unlikely. With around 14 UK babies named Selma per year, your child will almost certainly be the only Selma in her class, and possibly the only one in the whole school.
Selma is currently rising in popularity in the UK, up 162 places over the last five years to #2001 in 2024. If this trend continues, it will become more common in classrooms over the next decade.
Selma 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 Selma include: Selma Ergeç — Selma Ergeç is a Turkish-German actress, beauty pageant titleholder, model, designer, philologist, psychologist and doctor.; Selma Muhedinović — Selma Silajdžić is a Bosnian former pop singer, famous in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the late 1990s and early 2000s.; Selma Bacha — Selma Lena Bacha is a French professional footballer who plays as a left-back or left winger for Première Ligue club Lyon and the France national team..
Selma does not appear in the US top 1,000 baby names, making it a distinctively British choice — your child is unlikely to encounter American Selmas in the wild.
14
UK babies named Selma (2024)
< 1
Expected classmates with this name (class of 28)
~0.0
In a school of 600
↑ 162 places
Rank change (last 5 years)
🏫 Who else is in the room?
In a typical UK class of 28, highlighted children share the name Selma
Likely around 1 other Selma in the class
UK Popularity (1996–2024)
Rank and birth count · ONS official data
No US data available for this name
✨ Similar names to Selma
Names with a similar style — each with their own classroom story
Selma Ergeç is a Turkish-German actress, beauty pageant titleholder, model, designer, philologist, psychologist and doctor. She is known for her performance in Kırımlı, Asi, Vatanım Sensin, Yaşamayanlar, Yarım Elma, Gönül İşleri and Muhteşem Yüzyıl as the sister of Sultan Süleyman; Hatice Sultan.
Selma Lena Bacha is a French professional footballer who plays as a left-back or left winger for Première Ligue club Lyon and the France national team.
Selma Engel-Wijnberg was one of only two Dutch Jewish Holocaust survivors of the Sobibor extermination camp. She escaped during the 1943 uprising, hid in Poland, and survived the war.