Savon
A masculine name of French origin meaning "soap maker".
Name Census estimates that about 1,735 living Americans carry the first name Savon. It is a predominantly male name (96.3% of registrations). The average person named Savon today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Savon births was 1993 (194 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Savon. 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 Savon is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 66 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
1.7K
~ 1 in 197,553 Americans
Peak year
1993
194 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,438
Tracked since 1991
Census
Savon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,413 people with the first name Savon, which placed it at #9,721 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
#9,721
National first-name rank
People counted
1.4K
1,413 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
74.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Savon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Savon is Black at 74.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.4%) and Hispanic (5.7%). 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 Savon 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 Savon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American74.9% · 1,058
- Two or more races8.4% · 119
- Hispanic or Latino5.7% · 81
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.3% · 75
- White4.3% · 61
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 19
Gender
Gender distribution for Savon
Savon leans heavily male at 96.3% of total registrations, but 66 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Savon as a male name
- Ranked #3,438 in 2024
- 34 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1993 (179 births)
Savon as a female name
- Ranked #16,440 in 2011
- 6 female births in 2011
- Peak: 1993 (15 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Savon leans strongly male. 1,241 people counted with this name were male (87.8%), compared with 173 female bearers (12.2%).
Popularity
Savon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Savon from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 932 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
Savon 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 Savon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Savons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 19 states and territories. New York, Ohio, Illinois recorded the most babies named Savon, while Tennessee, Mississippi, District of Columbia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 35 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Savon
The name Savon is believed to have its origins in the French language, derived from the word "savon," which translates to "soap" in English. This unique name likely emerged during the Middle Ages in France, when the production and use of soap became more widespread.
One theory suggests that Savon may have been initially used as a surname for individuals involved in the soap-making trade or profession. It is possible that over time, the surname transitioned into a given name, although the precise reason for this transition remains uncertain.
While the name Savon does not appear to have any direct historical references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is worth noting that the concept of cleanliness and purification has held significant importance in various cultures and belief systems throughout history.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Savon are found in French records from the 16th and 17th centuries. One notable figure bearing this name was Savon de Vauvenargues, a French moralist and essayist who lived from 1715 to 1747. His philosophical works, such as "Introduction à la connaissance de l'esprit humain" (Introduction to the Knowledge of the Human Mind), explored themes of morality and human nature.
Another individual with the name Savon was Savon Deschamps, a French painter active in the late 18th century, known for his portraits and historical scenes. Deschamps' works were exhibited at the prestigious Salon de Paris during his lifetime.
In the 19th century, Savon Bouchet was a French politician and lawyer who served as a deputy in the National Assembly from 1848 to 1851. He was a vocal supporter of republican values and advocated for social reforms.
Savon Lecomte, born in 1867, was a French businessman and entrepreneur who founded the Lecomte Soap Company, which became a successful manufacturer of high-quality soaps and toiletries in the early 20th century.
Finally, Savon Durand, a French writer and poet born in 1920, gained recognition for his lyrical works that explored themes of nature, love, and the human condition. His collection of poems, "Reflets d'eau" (Water Reflections), published in 1957, received critical acclaim.
While the name Savon may be relatively uncommon today, its unique origin and connection to the history of soap-making and cleanliness make it a fascinating example of how names can evolve and carry cultural significance over time.
People
Savon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Savon 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
Savon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Savon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,735 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Savon 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 197,553 US residents.
Is Savon a common name?
We classify Savon as "Rare". It ranks above 93.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,766 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Savon most popular?
The single biggest year for Savon was 1993, when 194 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Savon 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 Savon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,413 people with the name Savon, or 0.47 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,721 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 Savon 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 Savon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Savon leans strongly male. 1,241 people counted with this name were male (87.8%), compared with 173 female bearers (12.2%). 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 Savon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Savon is Black at 74.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.4%) and Hispanic (5.7%). 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 Savon most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Savon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.9% (1,058 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 Savon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Savon a male name?
Yes, 96.3% of people registered as Savon 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 Savon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Savon 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 Savon 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 Savon?
Want to know how many people share the name Savon? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.