Selma: Meaning, Origin and Pronunciation
Selma is a girl’s name of Arabic origin. It means “safe, sound, peaceful”.
About the name Selma
- Meaning
- safe, sound, peaceful
- Origin
- Arabic
- From Arabic Salmā.
- Gender
- Female
- Pronunciation
- sel-mah
How to pronounce Selma
Turkish spelling is phonetic: every letter is pronounced, and each letter always has the same sound. Our respellingsel-mah is an approximation for English speakers. Turkish stresses syllables much more evenly than English, so avoid hitting one syllable hard. Tap the letters below for tips.
Letters English doesn’t haveFamiliar letters with a Turkish twist
Every letter in Selma sounds close to English. Just keep each vowel short and pure, without the glides English adds (“o” not “oh-oo”).
Practice the sounds in the Turkish alphabet tool or readhow to pronounce i, dotless ı and soft g.
Selma with Turkish suffixes
Turkish adds case endings where English uses prepositions. With a personal name the ending is separated by anapostrophe (Selma'ya, Selma'nın), but it is still pronounced as one word. The apostrophe only marks where the name ends; the suffix itself follows the usual rules.
The last vowel of Selma is a, a back unrounded vowel. So two-way suffixes take a and four-way suffixes takeı (vowel harmony):Selma'da, Selma'yı.
Because Selma ends in a vowel, a buffer letter keeps two vowels apart:y in Selma'yı, Selma'ya and Selma'yla, and n in the genitive Selma'nın.
| Case | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Accusative (object) | Selma'yı | Selma'yı tanıyor musun? Do you know Selma? |
| Dative (to) | Selma'ya | Selma'ya bir mesaj yazdım. I wrote a message to Selma. |
| Locative (at / with) | Selma'da | Anahtarlar Selma'da. Selma has the keys. (lit. The keys are at Selma.) |
| Ablative (from) | Selma'dan | Selma'dan bir hediye aldım. I got a present from Selma. |
| Genitive (’s) | Selma'nın | Bu Selma'nın çantası. This is Selma’s bag. |
| Instrumental (with) | Selma'yla | Dün Selma'yla konuştum. I talked with Selma yesterday. |
Forms are generated by TurkLogic’s tested grammar engine. See every case explained in theTurkish noun cases guide, or check the harmony of any word in thevowel harmony calculator.
Related names
More female names of Arabic origin
Frequently asked questions
What does the name Selma mean?
Selma is a Turkish girl’s name meaning “safe, sound, peaceful”. Its origin is Arabic. From Arabic Salmā.
How do you pronounce Selma?
Say it roughly as “sel-mah”, keeping every vowel short and clear.
How do you add suffixes to Selma in Turkish?
Because Selma is a proper name, case endings go after an apostrophe and follow vowel harmony: Selma'ya (to Selma), Selma'nın (Selma’s), Selma'da (at Selma’s) and Selma'yla (with Selma).
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