Selma
\sɛl.ma\♀French girl's name
A French girl's name of Italian origin.
At a glance
| Gender | Feminine |
|---|---|
| Origin | Italian |
| Pronunciation | \sɛl.ma\ |
Origin and meaning
Taken to use in the 19th century when similar-sounding names, Elma, Thelma, Alma, Wilma, etc. were in vogue. Perhaps a shortening of Anselma, or from the name of a place in the James Macpherson's Ossian cycle of epic poems, itself from Scottish Gaelic sealladh + math (“good vision”). In some cases perhaps borrowed from Turkish Selma, from Arabic سَلْمَى (salmā).
Where it is mostly given
- Portugal
- Belgium
- Netherlands
- East Frisia
- Germany
- Austria
- Switzerland
- Iceland
- Denmark
- Sweden
Source: Wiktionnaire (CC BY-SA 4.0).