Savanah
A feminine name derived from the Spanish word meaning "treeless plain".
Name Census estimates that about 9,482 living Americans carry the first name Savanah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Savanah today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Savanah births was 1998 (512 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Savanah. 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 Savanah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
9.5K
~ 1 in 36,148 Americans
Peak year
1998
512 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,432
Tracked since 1884
Census
Savanah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 9,299 people with the first name Savanah, which placed it at #2,587 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
#2,587
National first-name rank
People counted
9.3K
9,299 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
66.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Savanah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Savanah is White at 66.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.9%) and Two or More Races (6.3%). 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 Savanah 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 Savanah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.5% · 6,183
- Hispanic or Latino18.9% · 1,762
- Two or more races6.3% · 589
- Black or African American6.1% · 564
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 107
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 94
Popularity
Savanah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Savanah from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 4,008 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Savanah 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 Savanah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Savanahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 40 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Savanah, while Montana, Nebraska, Connecticut recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 192 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Savanah
The name Savanah is derived from the Spanish word "sabana," which means "treeless plain" or "savanna." It is a relatively modern name that emerged in the late 20th century, likely inspired by the geographical term "savanna," which refers to a flat, grassy landscape with scattered trees.
This name does not have a long and storied history like many other names, as it is a more recent invention. However, its connection to the natural world and the savanna biome has contributed to its appeal and popularity in recent decades.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Savanah can be found in the birth records of the United States in the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a given name, it gained traction in the United States and spread to other English-speaking countries.
While the name itself may not have a rich historical background, there are a few notable individuals who have borne the name Savanah throughout recent history. Savanah Leaf Cade, born in 1995, is an American actress known for her roles in films like "The Longshots" and "The Wronged Man."
Savanah Hernandez, born in 1995, is a Canadian soccer player who has represented Canada at the youth and senior levels. She currently plays for the Houston Dash in the National Women's Soccer League.
Another individual named Savanah is Savanah Guthrie, born in 1976, a television journalist and co-anchor of the NBC News morning show "Today." She has been a prominent figure in journalism and has covered major events such as the Olympic Games and presidential elections.
Savanah Felmas, born in 1989, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She has released several albums and has toured extensively, gaining recognition in the indie music scene.
Lastly, Savanah Moss, born in 1997, is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Los Angeles Sparks in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
While the name Savanah may not have a long and ancient history, its connection to nature and its increasing popularity in recent decades have made it a recognizable and well-liked name in many parts of the world.
People
Savanah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Savanah 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
Savanah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Savanah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 9,482 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Savanah 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 36,148 US residents.
Is Savanah a common name?
We classify Savanah as "Rare". It ranks above 97.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10,083 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Savanah most popular?
The single biggest year for Savanah was 1998, when 512 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Savanah is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Savanah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 9,299 people with the name Savanah, or 3.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,587 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 Savanah 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 Savanah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Savanah appears almost entirely female. Of the 9,297 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Savanah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Savanah is White at 66.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.9%) and Two or More Races (6.3%). 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 Savanah most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Savanah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.5% (6,183 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 Savanah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Savanah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Savanah in the SSA data are female. 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 Savanah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Savanah 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 Savanah 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 Savanah?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.