2000
#9,267
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,234
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.20
Rare Last name
Saville
Derived from a place name meaning "sand hill" in Old English, likely referring to someone who lived near one.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,532 Americans carry the last name Saville. That puts it at #9,994 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 97,043 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Saville 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Saville with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.5K
1 in 97,043
Census rank
#9,994
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,080 bearers of the surname Saville in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9994th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Saville, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Saville
The surname Saville is of English origin, deriving from the ancient Saxon settlement of Sevenoaks in Kent. The name is believed to have originated in the 11th century, with the earliest known reference appearing in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is recorded as "Savillan".
The name is thought to be derived from the Old English words "sæfe", meaning "rush" or "sedge", and "ac", meaning "oak". This suggests that the original bearers of the name likely lived in an area abundant with rushes and oak trees, possibly near a body of water.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname was Roger de Saville, who was listed as a landowner in the Hundred Rolls of 1273. The Hundred Rolls were a survey of landholdings in England during the reign of King Edward I.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in various spellings, including Savill, Savil, and Savile. One notable bearer of the name during this time was Sir John Savile (1330-1399), a member of the English gentry and a knight of Yorkshire.
The Saville family became prominent in Yorkshire during the 16th and 17th centuries. One of the most notable members of the family was Sir George Savile (1633-1695), a prominent politician and writer who served as a Member of Parliament and authored several works on philosophy and politics.
Another notable figure was Sir Henry Savile (1549-1622), a scholar and mathematician who was appointed as the Warden of Merton College, Oxford, and made significant contributions to the field of classical studies.
In the 18th century, the name Saville was also associated with the town of Saville in West Yorkshire, which further solidified its connection to the region.
Other notable individuals with the surname Saville include Sir Ernest Savile (1858-1909), a British politician and Member of Parliament, and Alfred Savile Caley (1831-1914), an English botanist and naturalist.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Saville
Among Census respondents with the surname Saville, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Saville 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 Saville surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.6% · 2,853
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 94
- Two or more races2.4% · 74
- Black or African American1.2% · 38
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Saville
Saville 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
#9,813
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,299
+65 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 1.12
Rank movement Down 546 places
2020
#9,994
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,080
-219 bearers (-6.6%)
Per 100,000 1.03
Rank movement Down 181 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,267 | 3,234 | 1.20 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,813 | 3,299 | 1.12 | +65 bearers (+2.0%) | Down 546 places |
| 2020 | #9,994 | 3,080 | 1.03 | -219 bearers (-6.6%) | Down 181 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 Saville 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 | #9,813 | #9,994 | -1.8% |
| Count | 3,299 | 3,080 | -6.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.12 | 1.03 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Saville bearers went from 3,299 to 3,080 (-6.6% change). The surname moved down 181 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,813 to #9,994.
FAQ
Saville surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Saville?
Name Census estimates that about 3,532 living Americans carry the surname Saville. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 97,043 residents.
How common is Saville?
Saville ranks #9,994 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,080 people with the surname Saville. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,532), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Saville.
Has Saville become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Saville went from 3,299 recorded bearers to 3,080. That is a decrease of 219 (-6.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,813 to #9,994.
What does the Census say about the background of Saville?
Among Census respondents with the surname Saville, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Saville in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.6% (2,853 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Saville appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.6%), Hispanic (3.1%), Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Saville (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 Saville mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "sand hill" in Old English, likely referring to someone who lived near one. 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 Saville (1.03 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 share the surname Saville?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.