Salvador
Salvador was the 756th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 341 babies. Its best year was 1990, when it ranked 289th; the most babies were born in 1992 (922). Over the last ten years it has moved down 122 places. More babies were named Salvador in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Meaning savior (Spanish) · Spanish, Latin
Say it SAL-vuh-dor /ˈsælvədɔr/
- Rank in 2025
- #756 boys, down 55 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 341boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 1992922 babies
- Total since 1880
- 49,788babies recorded
What does the name Salvador mean?
Salvador is the Spanish and Portuguese word for savior, a title of Jesus Christ, as Wiktionary and DMNES explain. It comes from Latin salvator, from salvare, to save. Many places are named Salvador or San Salvador, "holy savior." DMNES records Salvador in medieval Spain, Portugal, Italy and Germany, and in England from the 1570s, and Wiktionary calls Italian Salvatore a doublet. Salvador has been used in the US since 1888.
salvātor (Latin, “savior”)salvāre (Latin, “to save”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Pronunciation: Spanish: sahl-vah-DOR.
Related names: Salvatore, Salvator, Sal, Chava.
See also: Spanish names, names that mean God.
Sources for this meaning
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Salvador', DMNES (Durham University)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Salvador' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (yob*.txt), team3 computation of first year recorded, US Social Security Administration (public domain)
Nicknames for Salvador
The usual nicknames for Salvador are Sal and Chava. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Salvador in the last five years, 3 were named Sal, against 2 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sal · also for Salvatore | Traditional | #6,735 | 60 |
| Chava · Mexican Spanish pet form | Traditional | — | — |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Salvadors go by each one.
Salvador popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 183 since 1930.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #756 | 341 |
| 2020 | #701 | 362 |
| 2010 | #458 | 582 |
| 2000 | #330 | 852 |
| 1990 | #289 | 869 |
| 1980 | #303 | 652 |
| 1970 | #400 | 405 |
| 1960 | #437 | 337 |
| 1950 | #369 | 336 |
| 1940 | #398 | 208 |
| 1930 | #322 | 295 |
| 1920 | #417 | 202 |
| 1910 | #595 | 24 |
| 1900 | #958 | 9 |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Salvador, counting every spelling?
Salvador has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #737 for boys in 2025, against #756 on the official list.
How many kids will share the name Salvador?
341 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Salvador (0.09 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Salvador born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 25 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Salvador.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Salvador?
About 39,600 people born in the US named Salvador are alive today, with a median age of 33; half are between 21 and 48. That makes Salvador mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Salvador by state
How common Salvador was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in New Mexico (3.2×), California (2.9×), Nevada (1.9×), Illinois (1.8×), Arizona (1.8×). In 27 states fewer than five boys a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Salvador: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Salvador, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Salvador · Sibling names for Salvador
Questions about the name Salvador
What does Salvador mean?
Salvador means “savior (Spanish)” (Spanish, Latin origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Salvador?
Salvador was the 756th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 341 babies. Its best year was 1990, when it ranked 289th; the most babies were born in 1992 (922). Over the last ten years it has moved down 122 places. More babies were named Salvador in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Is Salvador a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Salvador in the US.
Where is Salvador most popular?
In 2021–2025, Salvador was most common in New Mexico (0.67 per 1,000 boys), followed by California and Nevada.