I find it bizarre that people are so closed minded. Yes, I will be naming my son Salem. Yes, I hope his generation knows the about the witch trials, the capital of Oregon, cigarettes and Sabrina's cat. This is the age where information is at our finger tips. If you can't take the time to look up the meaning of Salem out of curiosity...then you are stuck in mainstream thought. For that, I feel sorry for you.

A name that means complete/peaceful is absolutely beautiful for a child.

Do it

Salem is a beautiful name for a girl!! It's unfortunate that some closed minded people on here automatically think of the witch trials. Salem MA is a beautiful coastal town along with other towns named Salem. Salem means peace!! I think the judgmental people on here could probably use a little more peace.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's terrible. It's not a real name for a person and it has a lot of potential negative associations.

It's not a real name for a person? Oh dear. I better go tell the Salem I know that she has been using a fake name for the last 30-odd years.

Don't tell her, tell her parents.

Reminds me of Salem witch trials or Stephen King's "Salem's Lot". Witch or vampire. Stupid name buf how about Takoma,?

Anonymous wrote:It's terrible. It's not a real name for a person and it has a lot of potential negative associations.

It's not a real name for a person? Oh dear. I better go tell the Salem I know that she has been using a fake name for the last 30-odd years.

I dislike it. Total witch trials association.

It's terrible. It's not a real name for a person and it has a lot of potential negative associations.

my cousin named her 1 year old salem. i didn't like it at first but its grown on me. i think its cute. if you like it, go for it!

I thought of the witch trials immediately too.

It reminds of me of people who name their kids "Camden." People like me who grew up in SE PA and South Jersey usually do a double take.

Anonymous wrote:We named our son Saylem. And love it. People will get over the Salem witch trials crap. When he is older nobody will no what those are anyways. Any name you pick someone will say it reminds them of something. We like it cause it means peace. We changed the spelling to be different.

How kreativ.

Anonymous wrote:im naming my daugher salem and i think its awesome and beautiful. you people need to get over the witch thing. Children her age are not going to be thinking of that.

Haha, this one is particularly funny. Clearly written by an unintelligent child. As if the older people posting here remember the Trials....because they were there.

Snicker.

I like Salem. Having spent 4 years in Winston-Salem, my mind doesn't go to the witch trials either! The historic area in Old Salem is lovely.

It does look like the Arabic name Salim and may get pronounced that way. But it means "peace" and is an ancient name for Jerusalem too. If you have any middle eastern roots, I'd say its an easy yes. If not, I still think its a fine place name as a nod to Winston-Salem and could work for a boy or a girl.

Anonymous wrote:It instantly makes me think of Salem witch trials and Salem the cat from Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

Ditto. I wouldn't use it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We named our son Saylem. And love it. People will get over the Salem witch trials crap. When he is older nobody will no what those are anyways. Any name you pick someone will say it reminds them of something. We like it cause it means peace. We changed the spelling to be different.

I hope you're wrong that, in the near future, "nobody will no " what the Salem witch trials are. The Scarlet Letter was written more than 150 years ago. There's no reason to think people will stop reading that -- and hence know about the Salem Witch trials -- anytime soon.

It is really bizarre that some parents of little Salems are actually hoping and expecting that the next generation will be ignorant of history and literature.

I knew a girl who called herself Salem in college. She was a goth and into witchcraft, and her real name was Angela and way too uncool for her. So she called herself Salem to show solidarity with the women burned as witches. I always thought that made as much sense as a Jewish person calling themselves Auschwitz. Needless to say, this girl was an idiot and I would think the same of any parent who saddled their innocent child with this non-name.