I love the sound of [name]Salem[/name]. It’s lovely but, I just think of the [name]Salem[/name] Witch Trials and the cat from [name]Sabrina[/name]. I
have been told that I shouldn’t use [name]Cleo[/name] because of Miss [name]Cleo[/name] which is very annoying. I don’t care though I
would still use [name]Cleo[/name]. However I am still not sure if I would use it as a first or middle name. I do not believe
any large issues would arise from naming someone [name]Salem[/name]. I believe it can overcome that terrible history. It
is also much more mellifluous than Auschwitz so no worries there. I prefer it spelled [name]Salem[/name].
I really love both of these names, but I can only see myself using [name]Salem[/name]. I say use it and don’t worry about what other people may associate it with. [name]Both[/name] great names in my opinion
I really love the name [name]Salem[/name] and don’t really care about the associations that come with it. I think the witch trial association is even kind of cool! It’s at the top of my favorites for boys. My favorite middle name for it is [name]Peter[/name]. I think that since it’s not a common name at all it needs a common middle name to balance it out. [name]Salem[/name] [name]Peter[/name]
I think of [name]Salem[/name] from [name]Sabrina[/name] The Teenage Witch - and granted he was a very clever and frankly awesome cat, but the association would be too much for me.
As for the [name]Salem[/name] Witch Trials - I don’t necessarily think naming your child after somewhere that something terrible happened is a bad thing, but I’d never call the association cool. I happen to like place names for children, [name]Madison[/name], [name]Brooklyn[/name] etc.
[name]Salem[/name] is a cool name. I’ve never considered it as a girl’s name though. I know a couple real life Salems and honestly, once you attach the name to a person you forget about the sabrina/witch trials/cigarette connections. It is an Arabic name meaning “peace” and as far as I know it doesn’t have any real religious implications. I think it is used at least as much by Christians as by Muslims in the Arab world. [name]Hope[/name] that helps.
I’m sorry --why is this a bad thing?
I think [name]Salem[/name] has a great sound and once I got over the cat reference from [name]Sabrina[/name] I loved it --but can everyone get over the cat reference? That’s a tough one. I disagree with those who recommend avoiding it because of the [name]Salem[/name] Witch Trials. [name]Salem[/name] was just the town. That’s like saying because the city of [name]Savannah[/name] supported succession over fears of abolition that [name]Savannah[/name] is inappropriate.
I agree. First thing I thought of were the [name]Salem[/name] Witch Trials.
In 2007 I named my baby boy [name_u]Salem[/name_u] [name_m]Tripp[/name_m]. [name_u]Salem[/name_u] means “peaceful” and [name_m]Tripp[/name_m] means “journey”, put together his name translates to “Peaceful [name_f]Journey[/name_f]”. A lot of people assume he is Islamic or Arabic, because of his first name, but he is this pale white kid with blond hair and light blue eyes lol. I was going through a very hippie/pagan/wiccan stage in my life when I named him. All of that has mellowed down a bit, but I stand by my choice in names. He’s 9 years old now and loves his name.
It conjures up an occultic image to me so I would avoid it myself.
I actually like the name [name_u]Salem[/name_u], but it definitely reminds me of the witch trials, so I would probably stay away from it. [name_f]Seraphina[/name_f] is a very different name from [name_u]Salem[/name_u], but I feel like the two are somehow related. 
I don’t like the name, because it’s a greeting in Turkish. It’d be like naming your child Hello.
Eh. I’m not a fan of place names, and although this technically isn’t one, the association with the [name_u]Salem[/name_u] witch trials is just too strong for me to think of it otherwise. And the witch trials were a small-minded, misogynistic, embarrassing and horrible piece of our nation’s history that makes me feel depressed about the human race when I think about them (not unlike so many instances of social bad behavior today…).
I love [name_u]Salem[/name_u] for a girl! It’s so unique and really pretty to me!
I’ve always liked it for a boy, despite the cat, witch trials, and Days of Our Lives connections. I think it has a pleasant sounds and a lovely meaning.
Why was this dinosaur resurrected?
I love the name [name_u]Salem[/name_u], [name_f]Sabrina[/name_f] could also be a cute middle name for [name_u]Salem[/name_u].
Salem [name_f]Sabrina[/name_f]
While I agree that the [name_u]Salem[/name_u] Witch Trials were a terrible time and even though I love to read about it, I don’t think naming your daughter or son or even a character, [name_u]Salem[/name_u], is a bad thing. It’s like how that one person said, if naming your kid [name_u]Salem[/name_u] is a bad thing then naming someone [name_f]Savannah[/name_f] or [name_u]Raven[/name_u] is a bad thing as well yet people still do it. So I think there’s nothing wrong with it. Ravens (the bird) symbolized death to some and have a negative connotation to them. [name_u]Salem[/name_u] was just the place in Massachusetts that the trials just happened to take place. If you like it then go for it. Some people even name their daughters [name_f]Lilith[/name_f] even despite the negative connections to the she-demon, [name_f]Lilith[/name_f]. You also hear people naming their kids [name_f]Eve[/name_f], even though the name [name_f]Eve[/name_f] also has negative connotations. No matter the name, there will be negative connotations and sometimes those negative connotations wouldn’t have anything negative surrounding them and just are seen negatively by that person in the moment. [name_u]Salem[/name_u] does have a bad rap but a lot of people have negative connotations with a lot of names and if we say “don’t name your kid this” then it should definitely be the same about another name that has an equally as bad rap. So if you like [name_u]Salem[/name_u], go for it because no matter the name, there will be some kind of bad rap to it. [name_u]Salem[/name_u] is a great name and I have two characters by the name of [name_u]Salem[/name_u]! So go for it if you like it.
We named our baby [name_u]Salem[/name_u]. It was in part to honor all women who dared to defy social norms. The name means peace, and we’ve had only good reactions. Personally, I don’t care for Claudia/us (lame) or [name_f]Cecilia[/name_f] (blind). [name_u]Kennedy[/name_u] means misshapen head. I think [name_f]Mia[/name_f] sounds beautiful, but I would never name a child that (meaning either “mine” or “bitter”). I chose it in the hope that our daughter is a strong woman who walks her own path despite small-minded adversity.
I think this is an awesome name, since i both love creepy, witchy things. But, the history behind the witch trials and the unfairness faced by women (and some men) is awful, so a bit of me isn’t sure.
Realistically, where i live it would raise lots of eyebrows if a child was called Salem… But, it is really cool! Id probably name a cat it
(and i love cats)