MEANING & HISTORY
What does Saleh mean?
Saleh is a transcription of Arabic Ṣāliḥ, also written Salih. The adjective describes righteousness, goodness, or fitness.
It is the name of a prophet in Islamic tradition and an established personal name in several languages. The spelling is especially familiar in Indonesian usage, but it does not prove an individual’s nationality. It is distinct from the Arabic peaceful-name family.
References for this explanation
Pronunciation & syllables
A dictionary pronunciation or syllable division has not been verified for this exact spelling. Use the synthetic reading as a starting point and confirm the intended pronunciation with the family.
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
EnglishEtymology & source
From Iranian Persian صالح (sâleh) or directly from Arabic صَالِح (ṣāliḥ, literally “pious”).
A male given name from Arabic, variant of Salih.
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
Use in Philippine-linked records
Public-record transcription
1
eligible source records · 2001
This spelling is reported in an openly licensed transcription of elected-candidate records. This is a record count, not a birth count or national popularity measure.
OpenHalalan / COMELEC ↗PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Saleh in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to Saleh
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Salem·Arabic safe-name form or Hebrew place-name tradition
- Sali·Separate Arabic cheerful and Old Nubian speaker accounts
- Salik·Greenlandic name; separately a Tagalog factor word
- Salim·Arabic names: safe, sound or intact
- Sally♀Familiar form of Sarah; lady or princess
- Salma·Safe or sound in Arabic
- Salud♀Health, in the Spanish name tradition
- Salve·As a Spanish word: a greeting; also a Marian prayer
What rhymes with Saleh?
No dictionary-confirmed rhyme match is available for this spelling in the current catalogue.
Explore Saleh further
Follow the sources
- OpenHalalan — pinned 2001 COMELEC transcription (opens in a new tab)
Source-reported given-name form in a row with a separate explicit middle initial; ODbL-1.0.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- Wiktionary contributors — Saleh (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Wiktionary: Saleh (opens in a new tab)
Personal-name formation and etymological relationships; imported dictionary account consulted.
- Behind the Name: saleh (opens in a new tab)
Independent onomastic comparison and qualifications to the proposed origin.
- Wiktionary: Salih (opens in a new tab)
Explicit lexical or parent-name step in the described formation.