Savan
A Sanskrit name meaning "the season of harvest".
Name Census estimates that about 107 living Americans carry the first name Savan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Savan today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Savan births was 1994 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Savan. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Savan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
107
~ 1 in 3,203,312 Americans
Peak year
1994
11 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2017 SSA rank
#11,973
Tracked since 1992
Census
Savan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 402 people with the first name Savan, which placed it at #24,093 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
#24,093
National first-name rank
People counted
402
402 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
72.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Savan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Savan is Asian/Pacific Islander at 72.6%. The next largest groups are White (11.2%) and Black (8.5%). 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 Savan 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 Savan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander72.6% · 292
- White11.2% · 45
- Black or African American8.5% · 34
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 15
- Two or more races3.5% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 2
Popularity
Savan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Savan from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 55 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Savan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Savan 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 Savan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Savan
The name Savan is believed to have originated from the Sanskrit language, which is an ancient Indo-Aryan language that served as the root of many modern Indian languages. The Sanskrit word "savan" is derived from the word "sava," which means "funeral" or "obsequies." This association with death and funerary rites may seem morbid, but in Hindu belief systems, death is often seen as a transition into a new cycle of life and rebirth.
In Hindu mythology, Savan is also the name of a month in the Hindu calendar, which typically falls between July and August. This month is considered auspicious for performing rituals and ceremonies related to ancestors and the deceased. It is believed that during this month, the spirits of the departed ancestors visit their living relatives and bestow blessings upon them.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Savan can be found in ancient Hindu scriptures and texts, such as the Vedas and the Puranas. Here, the name is sometimes used to refer to deities or mythological figures associated with death, rebirth, and the afterlife.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the first name Savan. One of the earliest recorded examples is Savan Bhadra, a renowned Indian mathematician and astronomer who lived in the 7th century CE. He made significant contributions to the field of mathematics and is credited with developing advanced techniques for calculating planetary positions and eclipses.
Another notable figure is Savan Singh Bhati (1733-1783), a Rajput warrior and ruler from the Indian state of Rajasthan. He was known for his bravery in battle and his unwavering loyalty to his people. His exploits have been immortalized in various folk tales and ballads that are still popular in the region.
In more recent times, Savan Caldia (1924-2005) was a prominent Italian architect and urban planner. He played a crucial role in the reconstruction and urban development of several cities in Italy after World War II, including his hometown of Turin.
Savan Kotecha (born 1981) is a British-Indian songwriter and record producer who has worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry, such as Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, and One Direction. He has co-written numerous hit songs and has won several prestigious awards for his contributions to the music industry.
Savan Dara (born 1984) is a Cambodian-American actor and model who has appeared in various television shows and films. He is known for his roles in productions such as "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," "Warrior," and "Hawaii Five-0."
While the name Savan may have originated from a term associated with death and funerary rites, it has transcended its morbid roots and taken on a more positive and auspicious connotation in various cultures and belief systems. The name has been borne by individuals from diverse backgrounds, ranging from mathematicians and warriors to architects and artists, each leaving their mark on history.
People
Savan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Savan 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
Savan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Savan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 107 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Savan 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 3,203,312 US residents.
Is Savan a common name?
We classify Savan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 109 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Savan most popular?
The single biggest year for Savan was 1994, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Savan is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Savan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 402 people with the name Savan, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,093 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 Savan 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 Savan?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Savan on both sides of the split. Of the 400 people counted with this name, 310 were male (77.5%) and 90 were female (22.5%). 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 Savan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Savan is Asian/Pacific Islander at 72.6%. The next largest groups are White (11.2%) and Black (8.5%). 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 Savan most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Savan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.6% (292 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 Savan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Savan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Savan 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 Savan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Savan 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 Savan 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 many people share the name Savan?
Want to know how many people share the name Savan? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.