Explore the Family Name Salemme

The meaning of Salemme

Italian (southern): from the personal name Salem from Hebrew shalem or salem ‘peaceable’, or Salemme from a short form of Biblical personal name Matusalemme or from a placename Gerusalemme. Some characteristic forenames: Italian Antonio, Cosmo, Rino, Romeo, Sal.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Salemme in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Salemme saw a decline between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Salemme ranked 41,793 in terms of surname popularity in the United States, but by 2010 it had dropped to rank 45,886. This represents a decrease of approximately 9.79%. The total count of individuals bearing the surname also decreased from 490 to 465 within this ten-year span, marking a 5.1% reduction. The proportion of the Salemme surname per 100,000 people also experienced an 11.11% decrease, going from 0.18 to 0.16.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#41,793	#45,886	-9.79%
Count	490	465	-5.1%
Proportion per 100k	0.18	0.16	-11.11%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Salemme

When looking at the ethnic identity associated with the Salemme surname, there were some noticeable shifts between 2000 and 2010 according to the Decennial U.S. Census. The majority of individuals with this surname identified as White, though the percentage decreased slightly from 97.14% in 2000 to 94.19% in 2010. There was a significant increase in the proportion of individuals identifying as Hispanic, with the percentage rising from 1.22% in 2000 to 3.87% in 2010, marking a 217.21% increase. Meanwhile, there were no recorded changes in the Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, or American Indian and Alaskan Native categories.

	2000	2010	Change
White	97.14%	94.19%	-3.04%
Hispanic	1.22%	3.87%	217.21%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Two or More Races	1.02%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%