Salvatore
A masculine given name of Italian origin meaning "savior" or "redeemer".
Name Census estimates that about 30,284 living Americans carry the first name Salvatore. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Salvatore today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Salvatore births was 1927 (1,064 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Salvatore. 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 Salvatore is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 81 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
30K
~ 1 in 11,318 Americans
Peak year
1927
1,064 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
2024 SSA rank
#902
Tracked since 1888
Gender
Gender distribution for Salvatore
Out of the 57,191 babies given the name Salvatore since 1880, 99.9% 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.
Salvatore as a male name
- Ranked #902 in 2024
- 260 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1927 (1,058 births)
Salvatore as a female name
- Ranked #12,383 in 1986
- 5 female births in 1986
- Peak: 1928 (8 births)
Popularity
Salvatore: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Salvatore from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 9,892 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
Salvatore 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 Salvatore during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Salvatores live
The SSA's state-level files cover 27 states and territories. New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Salvatore, while West Virginia, South Carolina, Nevada recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 1,990 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Salvatore
The name Salvatore is derived from the Latin word "salvator", which means "savior" or "one who saves". It has its roots in the Christian tradition, with the name being associated with Jesus Christ, who is often referred to as the "Savior" in the Bible.
The name Salvatore gained popularity during the early days of Christianity, particularly in Italy and other parts of southern Europe. It was often given to children as a way to honor the Christian faith and express the hope that they would be saved from harm or sin.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Salvatore can be found in the writings of the 4th-century Christian scholar and theologian, St. Augustine of Hippo. He mentions a man named Salvatore in his work "City of God".
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Salvatore. One of the most famous was Salvatore Dali, the renowned Spanish surrealist painter, who was born in 1904 and died in 1989. His works, such as "The Persistence of Memory" and "Swans Reflecting Elephants", are considered masterpieces of the surrealist movement.
Another prominent individual with the name Salvatore was Salvatore Quasimodo, an Italian poet and Nobel Prize winner in Literature in 1959. He was born in 1901 and died in 1968. Quasimodo's poetry often explored themes of existentialism and the human condition.
In the world of music, Salvatore Sciarrino, an Italian composer born in 1947, has made significant contributions to contemporary classical music. His works are known for their exploration of new timbres and extended techniques.
The name Salvatore has also been associated with religious figures, such as Salvatore Maria Roselli, an Italian Roman Catholic priest and founder of the Congregation of the Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, who lived from 1786 to 1854.
Lastly, Salvatore Luria, an Italian microbiologist and Nobel Prize winner in Physiology or Medicine in 1969, made groundbreaking contributions to the understanding of bacterial genetics and viral replication. He was born in 1912 and died in 1991.
These historical figures and their achievements have helped to shape the meaning and significance of the name Salvatore, solidifying its connection to themes of salvation, faith, and intellectual pursuits.
People
Salvatore + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Salvatore 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
Salvatore: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Salvatore?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 30,284 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Salvatore 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 11,318 US residents.
Is Salvatore a common name?
We classify Salvatore as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 57,191 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Salvatore most popular?
The single biggest year for Salvatore was 1927, when 1,064 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Salvatore is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Salvatore a male name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Salvatore 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.