Savana
An English feminine name derived from the Spanish "sabana" meaning "grassy plain, savanna".
Name Census estimates that about 5,298 living Americans carry the first name Savana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Savana today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Savana births was 2000 (317 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Savana. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Savana with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
5.3K
~ 1 in 64,695 Americans
Peak year
2000
317 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,991
Tracked since 1911
Census
Savana in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 5,228 people with the first name Savana, which placed it at #3,791 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
#3,791
National first-name rank
People counted
5.2K
5,228 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
68.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Savana
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Savana is White at 68.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.1%) and Black (5.5%). 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 Savana 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 Savana at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.9% · 3,602
- Hispanic or Latino17.1% · 895
- Black or African American5.5% · 290
- Two or more races5.3% · 275
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 108
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 58
Popularity
Savana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Savana from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 2,619 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Savana 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 Savana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Savanas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 37 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Savana, while Nebraska, Mississippi, Massachusetts recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 93 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Savana
The name Savana is believed to have its origins in the Sanskrit language of ancient India, dating back to the 1st millennium BCE. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "savana," meaning "a place for rest or shelter." The name is thought to have been initially used to refer to the vast grassland plains or savannas that stretched across parts of the Indian subcontinent, known for their lush greenery and abundant wildlife.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Savana can be found in the ancient Hindu text, the Mahabharata, an epic poem composed between the 8th and 4th centuries BCE. Here, the name appears as a reference to a beautiful and serene location, emphasizing its connection to nature and tranquility.
In the 5th century CE, a Buddhist monk named Savana was renowned for his wisdom and teachings, which spread throughout the Indian subcontinent and beyond. His influential teachings on mindfulness and compassion were widely studied and revered by scholars and spiritual seekers alike.
During the Mughal Empire in the 16th century, a notable poet and scholar named Savana Khan gained recognition for his poetic works, which celebrated the beauty of nature and the human experience. His poetry anthologies were highly regarded and continue to be studied by literature enthusiasts to this day.
In the 18th century, a female warrior and military leader named Savana Bai rose to prominence in the princely state of Jhansi, India. She fiercely defended her kingdom against the invading forces of the British East India Company and became an icon of resistance and courage in Indian history.
Another notable figure with the name Savana was an Indian artist and sculptor who lived during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Savana Devi was renowned for her intricate and detailed sculptures, many of which depicted scenes from Hindu mythology and showcased her mastery of traditional Indian art forms.
As the name Savana spread beyond its Sanskrit roots, it has taken on various spellings and variations across different cultures and languages. However, its connection to nature, serenity, and the vast grasslands of its origin remains a common thread throughout its historical journey.
People
Savana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Savana 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
Savana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Savana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5,298 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Savana 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 64,695 US residents.
Is Savana a common name?
We classify Savana as "Rare". It ranks above 96.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,414 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Savana most popular?
The single biggest year for Savana was 2000, when 317 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Savana is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Savana in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 5,228 people with the name Savana, or 1.73 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,791 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 Savana 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 Savana?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Savana appears almost entirely female. Of the 5,231 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Savana?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Savana is White at 68.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.1%) and Black (5.5%). 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 Savana most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Savana in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.9% (3,602 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 Savana in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Savana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Savana in the SSA data are female. 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 Savana still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Savana 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 Savana 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 many people are called Savana?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.