Savage
Of Germanic origin, denoting an uncivilized or wild person.
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the first name Savage. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Savage today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Savage births was 2019 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Savage. 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.
People living today
124
~ 1 in 2,764,148 Americans
Peak year
2019
15 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,067
Tracked since 2012
Census
Savage in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 144 people with the first name Savage, which placed it at #46,371 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
#46,371
National first-name rank
People counted
144
144 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
57.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Savage
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Savage is White at 57.6%. The next largest groups are Black (23.6%) and Two or More Races (9.0%). 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 Savage 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 Savage at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White57.6% · 83
- Black or African American23.6% · 34
- Two or more races9.0% · 13
- Hispanic or Latino8.3% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 2
Popularity
Savage: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Savage from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 65 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Savage 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 Savage during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Savage
The name Savage is an English given name derived from the Old French word "salvage," meaning "wild" or "uncultivated." The name has its roots in the Latin word "silvaticus," which means "of the woods" or "forest-dwelling." Initially, the name was used as a surname for those who lived in forested or rural areas.
In the Middle Ages, the name Savage gained popularity as a descriptor for individuals who were considered uncivilized or lacking in refinement. It was often used to refer to those who lived outside the boundaries of society, either by choice or circumstance. Some historical records from this period mention individuals with the name Savage, but they were typically from lower social classes or marginalized groups.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Savage as a given name dates back to the 14th century. A man named Savage de Arden was mentioned in the Plea Rolls of Warwickshire, England, in 1349. However, it is unclear whether Savage was his given name or a surname at that time.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the given name Savage. One of the most prominent was Savage Landor (1775-1864), an English writer and biographer known for his works on literary figures like William Shakespeare and Samuel Johnson.
Another influential figure was Savage Mostyn (1701-1757), a Welsh landowner and Member of Parliament who played a significant role in the development of the copper industry in Wales during the 18th century.
In the realm of sports, Savage Reeves (1923-1976) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played for the New York Rangers and the Chicago Black Hawks in the 1940s and 1950s.
Savage Opress (c. 32 BBY) was a fictional character from the Star Wars universe, a Dathomirian Zabrak Sith Lord who appeared in the animated series "Star Wars: The Clone Wars."
Finally, Savage Messiah (1963-2008), born Michael Chetcuti, was a British artist and musician known for his experimental and avant-garde works, particularly in the field of industrial music.
It is worth noting that while the name Savage has been used throughout history, its connotations of wildness and lack of refinement have made it less common as a given name in modern times. Nevertheless, it remains a distinctive and evocative choice for those seeking a unique name with a rich historical background.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Savage
People
Savage + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Savage 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
Savage: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Savage?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 124 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Savage 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 2,764,148 US residents.
Is Savage a common name?
We classify Savage as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 125 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Savage most popular?
The single biggest year for Savage was 2019, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Savage is about 7 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Savage in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 144 people with the name Savage, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #46,371 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 Savage 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 Savage?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Savage leans strongly male. 124 people counted with this name were male (83.8%), compared with 24 female bearers (16.2%). 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 Savage?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Savage is White at 57.6%. The next largest groups are Black (23.6%) and Two or More Races (9.0%). 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 Savage most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Savage in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.6% (83 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 Savage in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Savage a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Savage 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 Savage still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Savage 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 Savage 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 common is the name Savage?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Savage at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.