Salvador
Derived from Greek, a given male name meaning "savior" or "preserver".
Name Census estimates that about 40,754 living Americans carry the first name Salvador. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Salvador today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Salvador births was 1992 (928 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Salvador. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Although Salvador is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 183 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
41K
~ 1 in 8,410 Americans
Peak year
1992
928 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2024 SSA rank
#721
Tracked since 1888
Gender
Gender distribution for Salvador
Out of the 49,442 babies given the name Salvador since 1880, 99.6% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Salvador as a male name
- Ranked #721 in 2024
- 364 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1992 (921 births)
Salvador as a female name
- Ranked #17,084 in 2000
- 5 female births in 2000
- Peak: 1987 (13 births)
Popularity
Salvador: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Salvador from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 8,658 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Salvador by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Salvador during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Salvadors live
The SSA's state-level files cover 38 states and territories. California, Texas, Illinois recorded the most babies named Salvador, while Mississippi, Maryland, Arkansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 1,198 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Salvador
The name Salvador has its roots in the Spanish and Portuguese languages, originating from the Late Latin word 'salvator', meaning 'savior' or 'preserver'. Its earliest known usage dates back to the 4th century AD, when it was used as a title for Jesus Christ in religious texts.
In the medieval period, the name became more widely adopted as a given name, particularly in regions with strong Christian influences, such as the Iberian Peninsula. The name's association with the concept of salvation and divine protection made it a popular choice among the faithful.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Salvador was Salvador de Bahía, a 16th-century Portuguese explorer and navigator who played a significant role in the colonization of Brazil. Another notable figure was Salvador Dalí, the renowned Spanish surrealist artist, born in 1904 and known for his striking and thought-provoking works like "The Persistence of Memory".
In the realm of literature, Salvador Espriu, a 20th-century Catalan poet and playwright born in 1913, left an indelible mark with his works that explored existential themes and the complexities of human existence. The name also graced the life of Salvador Allende, the former President of Chile from 1970 to 1973, who became a symbol of democratic socialism and social reform.
In the field of music, Salvador Dali Lama, born in 1965, is a Spanish singer-songwriter known for blending rock and flamenco influences, while Salvador Sobral, born in 1989, is a Portuguese singer who won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2017 with his soulful performance.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the name Salvador throughout history, each leaving their unique mark in their respective fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of cultural heritage associated with this name.
People
Salvador + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Salvador as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Salvador: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Salvador?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 40,754 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Salvador going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 8,410 US residents.
Is Salvador a common name?
We classify Salvador as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 49,442 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Salvador most popular?
The single biggest year for Salvador was 1992, when 928 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Salvador is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Salvador a male name?
Yes, 99.6% of people registered as Salvador in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.