| Noor | Salma | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Light | Safe, peaceful |
| Origin | arabic | arabic |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | NOOR | SAL-mah |
| Syllables | 1 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1979 | 1918 |
| Peak year | 2025 (435) | 1999 (442) |
| In 2025 | 435 | 278 |
| Trend | Near its peak | Steady |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Noor | Salma |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 2,176 | 1,724 |
| 2010s | 2,673 | 3,321 |
| 2000s | 2,124 | 3,488 |
| 1990s | 1,053 | 1,535 |
| 1980s | 243 | 178 |
| 1970s | 7 | 59 |
| 1910s | 0 | 6 |
Noor (نور, nur) means 'light' and comes from the Arabic root n-w-r. It is used for girls and boys across the Muslim world and carries connotations of radiance and divine light. Transliteration varies between Noor, Nour and Nur.
Salma (سلمى, salma) comes from the Arabic root s-l-m ('peace, safety, soundness') - the same root as salam and Islam - and means 'safe, peaceful, unharmed'. It is a classical name used in early Arabic poetry.
Noor is more popular than Salma today: about 435 US babies were given the name Noor in 2025, compared with 278 named Salma.
Noor means Light (arabic origin), while Salma means Safe, peaceful (arabic origin).
In US records, Noor first appears in 1979 and Salma in 1918, so Salma has the longer recorded history.