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is hamlet ( a census-designated place ) in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 21,861 at the 2000 census.
The farmers who first moved to what is now Selden in the mid-1700 referred to the area as Westfield. When a post office was opened in 1852, Westfield had already been taken as a name by a community upstate. Prominent New York state judge Henry Selden, who had no connection to the community, promised to do "something handsome" if the town named itself after him. It is not known if Judge Selden ever did, but the name was adopted.
The rural farming nature of Selden began to transform in the 1930s, when real estate agents began marketing small lots to New York City residents as retreats from urban living. By the early 1970s, Selden had become a primarily suburban community.