Salvator
Latin name derived from "salvator" meaning "savior" or "one who saves".
Name Census estimates that about 347 living Americans carry the first name Salvator. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Salvator today is around 60 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Salvator births was 1989 (41 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Salvator. 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.
People living today
347
~ 1 in 987,765 Americans
Peak year
1989
41 babies that year
Average age
60
years old
2009 SSA rank
#9,709
Tracked since 1910
Census
Salvator in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 529 people with the first name Salvator, which placed it at #19,808 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#19,808
National first-name rank
People counted
529
529 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
78.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Salvator
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Salvator is White at 78.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.7%) and Black (3.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Salvator described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Salvator at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.8% · 417
- Hispanic or Latino14.7% · 78
- Black or African American3.8% · 20
- Two or more races1.5% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 1
Popularity
Salvator: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Salvator from the 1910s through to the 2000s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 250 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Salvator 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 Salvator during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Salvators live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Salvator, while Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 96 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Salvator
The name Salvator finds its origins in the Latin language, specifically derived from the word "salvator," meaning "savior" or "preserver." This name has strong religious connotations and was particularly popular during the medieval and Renaissance periods in Christian-influenced regions of Europe.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Salvator can be found in the Bible, where it is used as a title for Jesus Christ, the savior of humanity according to Christian beliefs. The name gained popularity as a way for Christian families to honor their religious faith and express their devotion to the figure of the savior.
In the 15th century, the Italian Renaissance artist and sculptor Salvator Rosa (1615-1673) became renowned for his unique style and contributions to the Baroque period. His name, Salvator, exemplified the enduring influence of the name's religious roots during this time.
Another notable bearer of the name was Salvator Allende (1908-1973), the Chilean politician and physician who served as the President of Chile from 1970 until his death in 1973. His name reflected the continued use of the name in Latin American countries with strong Catholic traditions.
In the field of literature, Salvator Gotta (1887-1975) was an Italian novelist and playwright known for his works exploring social and political themes. His name carried the timeless quality of the Latin origin, reflecting the enduring nature of the name throughout various eras.
Salvator Mundi, a painting attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, depicts Christ as the "Savior of the World" and is considered one of the most valuable paintings in the world. The title itself is a direct reference to the Latin meaning of the name, further solidifying its religious significance in art and culture.
While the name Salvator has maintained a consistent presence throughout history, its popularity has varied across different regions and time periods, reflecting the cultural and religious influences that have shaped its usage and significance over the centuries.
People
Salvator + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Salvator 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
Salvator: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Salvator?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 347 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Salvator 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 987,765 US residents.
Is Salvator a common name?
We classify Salvator as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 920 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Salvator most popular?
The single biggest year for Salvator was 1989, when 41 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Salvator is about 60 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Salvator in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 529 people with the name Salvator, or 0.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,808 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Salvator in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Salvator?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Salvator appears almost entirely male. Of the 529 people counted with this name, 99.1% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Salvator?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Salvator is White at 78.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.7%) and Black (3.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Salvator most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Salvator in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.8% (417 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Salvator in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Salvator a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Salvator 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.
Is Salvator still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Salvator in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Salvator can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How common is the name Salvator?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.