Saba last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Saba is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Saba.

Meaning of Saba

An Italian surname referring to someone from Savoy or derived from the Arabic word for "lion cub."

Saba, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Saba surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Saba in America

Saba is the 8822nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Saba surname appeared 3,712 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Saba.

We can also compare 2010 data for Saba to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 8822 9749 -9.98%
Count 3,712 3,060 19.26%
Proportion per 100k 1.26 1.13 10.88%

The history of the last name Saba

The surname SABA originates from Italy, with its earliest recorded use dating back to the Middle Ages. The name is believed to be derived from the Latin word "sabbatum," meaning Saturday or the Sabbath day. This suggests that the name may have been given to a person or family who observed the Sabbath with particular diligence or lived near a place associated with the Sabbath.

SABA is thought to have originated in the region of Tuscany, specifically in the city of Siena. The earliest known record of the name appears in a document from the 13th century, where a certain Guido di SABA is mentioned as a landowner in the area.

During the Renaissance period, the name SABA gained prominence in the city of Venice. One notable figure was Giovanni SABA, a renowned Venetian painter who lived from 1516 to 1594. His works, which include religious paintings and portraits, can be found in various churches and galleries across Italy.

In the 17th century, the SABA family established itself as a prominent noble family in the city of Naples. One of the most distinguished members was Niccolò SABA (1619-1678), a respected jurist and legal scholar who served as a judge in the Neapolitan court.

Another notable figure bearing the surname SABA was Carlo SABA (1743-1817), an Italian mathematician and astronomer. He made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics and was appointed as the director of the Astronomical Observatory in Padua.

In the 19th century, Giuseppe SABA (1833-1909) was a prominent Italian journalist and writer. He founded several newspapers and served as a member of the Italian parliament, representing the city of Turin.

The name SABA has also been associated with various place names throughout Italy, such as the town of Sabaudia in the province of Latina, and the Saba River, a tributary of the Adige River in the Veneto region.

While the surname SABA is more prevalent in Italy, it can also be found in other parts of Europe and the Americas, likely due to migration patterns. However, the historical records and notable figures mentioned above highlight the rich heritage and significance of this surname within the Italian cultural and historical context.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Saba

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Saba.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Saba was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 76.32% 2,833
Non-Hispanic Black Only 3.83% 142
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 6.90% 256
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races (S)% (S)
Hispanic Origin 9.54% 354

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Saba has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 76.32% 80.75% -5.64%
Black 3.83% 2.25% 51.97%
Asian and Pacific Islander 6.90% 3.76% 58.91%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% 0.42% (S)%
Two or More Races (S)% 6.05% (S)%
Hispanic 9.54% 6.76% 34.11%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Saba was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Saba, please contact us.

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Saba last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/saba-surname-popularity/.

"Saba last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/saba-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 December, 2024

Saba last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/saba-surname-popularity/.

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