The family name comes from the aramaic (sliba) but also from the Arabic cognate "صليب" (salîb), meaning "cross", a reference to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

Since Ottoman times, the majority of Salibas involved themselves in professional, political and cultural professions serving as mediators between their local communities and Muslim overlords.

Today, many Salibas are prominent doctors, lawyers, bishops, media personalities, business owners, professors, writers and political activists.

Today, just as many Salibas live in the Middle East as those in the United States, Canada, Germany, France, Denmark, Australia, Brazil and various countries in North Africa.

To varying degrees and through multiple mediums, clergy members of the Saliba family have spoken out against the genocide of Christians by ISIL and other groups such as the Yazidis.

Further back in time, the Saliba name and its root "salib" grew in prominence and became a term to identify geographically Christian areas.

In Haifa, Wadi Salib (وادي صليب), or Valley of the Cross, was the site of much controversy, displacement and riot in the early half of the 20th century as Muslim and Christian residents were forcibly removed before and after the establishment of the state of Israel.

The rich folklore that surrounds the area has been traced back thousands of years to before the birth of Jesus Christ to ancient Greece.

This Amiries was born in a ship while his mother Aghrist with his uncle Emofaratis fled from Sparta after his father's death; this was near the shores of Byblos, the city of the Phoenician Gods.

Amiries' son, Nocalaous, married and begat El-Gouth, a great hero who was called "El-Saleeby" by an Arabian prince for his wars against Jews and idolaters in defense of the Christian faith.

After Farris's death, Tamir, Jacob's son, became the leader, who, during his days, things developed until the 12th century when the Crusaders came from Europe to "rescue Jerusalem from the Muslims.

But for the Crusade's bad conduct and mistreatment to the inhabitants of Lebanon, the Saleebys were forced to form an alliance with the Arabs to fight for their safety until 1380 when things were settled.

What is likely to be the case is that the Saliba family name have mixed roots and various origins as Levantine Muslim and Christians tend to have due to all the intermixing that took place in the Levant between various people for thousands of years.

For the more urbanized Greek-speaking Christians of the coast, their allegiances remained firmly with Constantinople and more specifically the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch.

As time passed and Islam became dominant, Salibas continued to live in urban areas and maintain a close familial network from Antakya to Nazareth and Damascus to Latakia.

For those that argue in favor of a common connection, a line would be drawn between the family's proposed relationship with Roman and Greek empires and maritime travel.