Selma is a feminine name of ambiguous origin. It could be a form of '' Selima'', which in turn is a name first recorded in a poem by

Thomas Gray Thomas Gray (26 December 1716 – 30 July 1771) was an English poet, letter-writer, and classics, classical scholar at Cambridge University, being a fellow first of Peterhouse then of Pembroke College, Cambridge, Pembroke College. He is widely ...

(died 1771). One possibility is that ''Selima'' was influenced by the

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

name ''

Selim Salim, Saleem or Selim may refer to: People *Salim (name), or Saleem or Salem or Selim, a name of Arabic origin **Salim (poet) (1800–1866), Kurdish poet **Saleem (playwright), Palestinian-American gay Muslim playwright, actor, DJ, and dancer * ...

'' meaning "peaceful". Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges (2006) p. 243. In

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, the name is a variation of the Arabic female name Salma. The name may also have

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

origins, in which case it means "beautiful view". The use of ''Selma'' in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

stems from the

Ossian Ossian (; Irish Gaelic/Scottish Gaelic: ''Oisean'') is the narrator and purported author of a cycle of epic poems published by the Scottish poet James Macpherson, originally as ''Fingal'' (1761) and ''Temora (poem), Temora'' (1763), and later c ...

ic poetry of

James Macpherson James Macpherson ( Gaelic: ''Seumas MacMhuirich'' or ''Seumas Mac a' Phearsain''; 27 October 1736 – 17 February 1796) was a Scottish writer, poet, literary collector, and politician. He is known for the Ossian cycle of epic poems, which he ...

(died 1796), where it appears as a place name. Fellows-Jensen (2006) pp. 134–136. Vigsø (2001). Its specific popularity in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

is likely due to the Selma poems of

Frans Michael Franzén Frans Michael Franzén (9 February 1772 – 14 August 1847) was a Swedish people, Swedish-Finland, Finnish poet and clergyman. He served as the Bishop of the Diocese of Härnösand. Biography Franzén was born in Oulu (), Northern Ostrobothnia ...

(died 1847). It was later introduced into

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

by Swedish immigrants, after which it likely became more common due to the works of the author

Selma Lagerlöf Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf (, , ; 20 November 1858 – 16 March 1940) was a Swedish writer. She published her first novel, ''Gösta Berling's Saga'', at the age of 33. She was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, which she was ...

(died 1940). The given name lost popularity in Sweden during most of the 20th century, but has had an upswing since the 1990s. In 1999, it joined the list of 100 most common names for Swedish female infants, and in 2017 and 2018, it was in the 16th place.

Given name

* Selma Bajrami (born 1980), Bosnian singer *

Selma Björnsdóttir Selma Björnsdóttir (born 13 June 1974), also known as Selma or Selma Björns, is an Icelandic actress and singer born in Reykjavík. She is well-known internationally for representing Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest, Iceland in the ...

(born 1974), Icelandic singer, 1999 and 2005 representative in the Eurovision Song Contest * Selma Blair (born 1972), American actress * Selma Calmes (born 1940), anesthesiologist * Selma Botman (born 1950), American academic * Selma Chalabi, British filmmaker * Selma Cronan (1913–2002), American aviator * Selma Diamond (1917–2008), American actress * Selma Dritz (1920–1985), American physician and epidemiologist * Selma D'Silva (born 1960), hockey player *

Selma Ergeç Selma Sabina Ergeç (; born 1 November 1978) is a Turkish-German actress, beauty pageant titleholder, Model (person), model, designer, philologist, psychologist and physician, doctor. She is known for her performance in :tr:Kırımlı (film), K� ...

(born 1978), Turkish-German actress and model * Selma Ek (1856–1941), Swedish opera singer * Selma Engel-Wijnberg (1922-2018), Holocaust survivor * Selma Freud (1877–?), Austrian physicist * Selma Giöbel (1843–1925), Swedish artist * Selma Gräfin von der Gröben (1856–1938), German women's rights activist * Selma Hanımsultan (1916-1942), Ottoman princess *

Salma Hayek Salma Valgarma Hayek Pinault ( , ; ; born September 2, 1966) is a Mexican and American actress and film producer. She began her career in Mexico with starring roles in the telenovela ''Teresa (1989 TV series), Teresa'' (1989–1991) as well a ...

(born 1966), Mexican and American actress and producer * Selma Jacobsson (1841–1899), Swedish photographer *

Selma James Selma James (born Selma Deitch; formerly Weinstein; August 15, 1930) is an American writer, feminist, and social activist who is co-author of the women's movement book ''The Power of Women and the Subversion of the Community'' (with Mariarosa Da ...

(born 1930), American writer, feminist and social activist * Selma Aliye Kavaf (born 1962), Turkish politician * Selma Kurz (1874–1933), Austrian operatic soprano *

(1858–1940), Swedish author * Selma Lohse (1883–1937), German politician * Selma Meerbaum-Eisinger (1924–1942), Romanian-born German-language poet *Selma Mayer (1884–1984), Israeli nurse known as Schwester Selma * Selma Meyer (1890–1941), Dutch-Jewish women's rights activist * Selma Muhedinović (born 1972), Bosnian singer * Selma Rainio (1873–1939), Finnish medical missionary * Selma Stern (1890-1981), German historian * Selma Vilhunen (born 1976), Finnish film maker * Selma Walker (1925-1997), American social worker * Selma Yağcı (born 1981), Turkish boxer * Selma Yildirim (born 1969), Austrian politician * Selma Skenderović (born 2001), Slovene writer and poet

Fictional characters

Selma Bouvier Patricia Maleficent "Patty" Bouvier and Selma Bouvier-Terwilliger-Hutz-McClure-Discotheque-Simpson ( ) are fictional characters in the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. They are twin sisters and are voiced by Julie Kavner, who also vo ...

, ''The Simpsons'' character voiced by Julie Kavner *Selma Jezková, fictional character in the Lars von Trier film ''

Dancer in the Dark ''Dancer in the Dark'' is a 2000 musical psychological tragedy film written and directed by Lars von Trier. It stars Icelandic musician Björk as a factory worker who suffers from a degenerative eye condition and is saving for an operation to p ...

'' played by Björk *Selma Ann Forrester, nicknamed Selmers, from the video game Night in the Woods

Citations

Sources

* * * {{given name English-language feminine given names English feminine given names Estonian feminine given names Danish feminine given names German feminine given names Scandinavian feminine given names Swedish feminine given names Arabic-language feminine given names Feminine given names Turkish feminine given names