2000
#104,257
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 159
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Salvail
A French surname derived from the Old French word "salvail", meaning "willow tree".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 164 Americans carry the last name Salvail. That puts it at #125,732 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,089,965 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Salvail surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
164
1 in 2,089,965
Census rank
#125,732
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
143
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 143 bearers of the surname Salvail in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 125732nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Salvail, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Salvail
The surname SALVAIL has its origins in the French language and dates back to medieval times. It is believed to have originated from the region of Normandy in northern France, where it was first recorded in the 11th century.
The name SALVAIL is thought to be derived from the Old French words "sauve" and "val," which together mean "safe valley" or "protected valley." This suggests that the name may have originated from a geographic location, possibly a valley or settlement that was considered safe or well-protected.
In the 12th century, the name appeared in several historical records and documents, including the Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de Saint-Père de Chartres, which mentioned a person named Guibertus Salvail in 1174. Another early reference to the name can be found in the Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de Notre-Dame de Vauluisant, which recorded a certain Robertus Salvail in 1219.
Over the centuries, the name has been subject to various spellings and variations, such as Sauvail, Sauvalle, and Sauvale, reflecting regional dialects and linguistic changes. Some of the earliest recorded instances of these variations include Guillelmus de Sauvalle in 1198 and Johannes de Sauvale in 1236.
Notable individuals with the surname SALVAIL throughout history include:
1. Pierre Salvail (1512-1583), a French merchant and explorer who accompanied Jacques Cartier on his third voyage to Canada in 1541.
2. Jean-Baptiste Salvail (1685-1758), a French-Canadian farmer and landowner in the seigneurie of Champlain, Quebec.
3. Louis Salvail (1740-1811), a French-Canadian militia officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War.
4. Marie-Thérèse Salvail (1810-1891), a Quebec-born educator and founder of the Congrégation des Sœurs de Notre-Dame du Saint-Rosaire.
5. Henri Salvail (1872-1945), a French-Canadian politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec for the district of Yamaska from 1916 to 1923.
While the surname SALVAIL is not as common today as some other French surnames, it remains a part of the linguistic and cultural heritage of France and its former colonies, particularly in Canada, where many descendants of early French settlers continue to bear this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Salvail
Among Census respondents with the surname Salvail, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Salvail bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Salvail surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.6% · 131
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.5% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 4
- Two or more races2.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Salvail
Salvail appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#114,424
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 153
-6 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 10,167 places
2020
#125,732
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 143
-10 bearers (-6.5%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 11,308 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #104,257 | 159 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #114,424 | 153 | 0.05 | -6 bearers (-3.8%) | Down 10,167 places |
| 2020 | #125,732 | 143 | 0.05 | -10 bearers (-6.5%) | Down 11,308 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Salvail surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #114,424 | #125,732 | -9.9% |
| Count | 153 | 143 | -6.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.05 | -4.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Salvail bearers went from 153 to 143 (-6.5% change). The surname moved down 11,308 positions in the national ranking, going from #114,424 to #125,732.
FAQ
Salvail surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Salvail?
Name Census estimates that about 164 living Americans carry the surname Salvail. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,089,965 residents.
How common is Salvail?
Salvail ranks #125,732 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 143 people with the surname Salvail. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (164), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.05 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Salvail.
Has Salvail become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Salvail went from 153 recorded bearers to 143. That is a decrease of 10 (-6.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #114,424 to #125,732.
What does the Census say about the background of Salvail?
Among Census respondents with the surname Salvail, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Salvail in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.6% (131 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Salvail appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.6%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.5%), Hispanic (2.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Salvail (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Salvail mean?
A French surname derived from the Old French word "salvail", meaning "willow tree". The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Salvail (0.05 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Salvail?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.