The Saleh surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 9,656 people carried this name — #3,682 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 30,600 people counted. That is up 66% from 5,813 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Saleh surname
A surname from Arabic.
Borrowed from Arabic صَالِح (ṣāliḥ).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Saleh» (Swedish), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
697 people named Saleh live in Switzerland.
They live in 20 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 513 people named Saleh live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 359 people named Saleh live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Antwerp.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 132 people named Saleh.
Most of them — 102 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 11 départements, most often Bouches-du-Rhône.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Poland’s population register
89 people named Saleh have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 226 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 13 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In the Nordic population registers
3,489 people named Saleh are counted in Sweden, Norway and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Norway publishes only surnames with 200 or more bearers. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Statistics Norway (SSB, ssb.no), table 12891, 2025 — CC BY 4.0 · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Saleh in American newspapers,
1891–1963.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 12,242 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Saleh,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Chairul Saleh 1916–1967 · politician -
Ismail Saleh 1926–2008 · civil servant -
Rachmat Saleh 1930–2018 · economist -
Abdul Rahman Saleh 1941–2025 · civil servant -
Jaime Saleh 1941– · politician
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 139 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Saleh.
- Salber 245 · U.S. census
- Salce 902 · U.S. census
- Salcedo 18,387 · U.S. census
- Saldana 34,434 · U.S. census
- Saldo 163 · U.S. census
- Sale 3,591 · U.S. census
- Salem 8,404 · U.S. census
- Salemi 1,365 · U.S. census
- Salemme 465 · U.S. census
- Salen 299 · U.S. census
- Salerno 9,440 · U.S. census
- Salery 102 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Saleh is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.