Salvador
Torn between Salvador and another name? Compare them side by side →
Meaning
“'savior', from Latin salvator”
Goes by Chava, Sal. See all nicknames
Famously borne by Salvador Dali, whose melting clocks became one of Surrealism's most recognizable images.
The story
Salvador is Spanish for savior, from the Latin salvator, and it began as a devotional name, the same impulse that put it on maps across two continents, from San Salvador to Brazil's first colonial capital, Salvador da Bahia. It is one of the Spanish-speaking world's durable classics, worn by presidents and painters alike, and the painter matters most to its global image: Salvador Dalí made the name shorthand for flamboyant genius, mustache included. In the US it has been a steady presence in Mexican-American and Central American families for a full century, and the records show it as current in recent years as it was in the 1980s. It also comes with two built-in casual registers: Sal, the American shortening it shares with Salvatore, and Chava, the Mexican pet form. One name, three ways to introduce yourself.
How popular is Salvador around the world?
In the United States, 2,176 babies were named Salvador between 2020 and 2025. In Argentina, 2,239 newborns were given the name Salvador in 2024.
Salvador is on the official records of the United States, Argentina, Chile, Spain, Montevideo, Mexico City, Brazil, France, England and Wales, Austria, Canada and Poland.
United States
1 in 10,000
In the United States, 2,176 babies were named Salvador between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Salvador peaked in the 1980s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Argentina
1 in 300
In Argentina, 2,239 newborns were given the name Salvador in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Chile
1 in 450
In Chile, 393 boys were registered as Salvador in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Spain
1 in 620
In Spain, 72,713 residents are named Salvador, the 62nd most common name among men, with a mean age of 56.3 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Montevideo City
1 in 6702011
In Montevideo, 37 boys named Salvador were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Mexico City City
1 in 1,200
In Mexico City, there were 97 registrations of Salvador in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (6 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Brazil
1 in 8,100
At the 2022 census, 25,173 people in Brazil were named Salvador, the 914th most common name, with a median age of 62.
Among people named Salvador living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1950s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 85 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
France
1 in 21,000
In France, about 30 boys named Salvador were born in 2025, ranked 1,184th among boys that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
England and Wales
1 in 37,000
In England and Wales, 16 boys named Salvador were born in 2025, ranked 1,613th among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Austria
1 in 38,000
In Austria, 2 boys named Salvador were born in 2025, ranked 1,241st among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Canada
1 in 41,000
In Canada, 9 boys named Salvador were born in 2024, ranked 2,134th among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Poland
1 in 41,000
In Poland, 6 boys named Salvador were born in 2025, the 419th most common name among boys that year.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Ireland
last on record 2024
Salvador is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Puerto Rico
last on record 2011
Salvador is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 33 babies have carried the name there since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
South Australia
last on record 2014
Salvador is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Not on the record in New Zealand and Scotland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Salvador
Most people given the name Salvador in the United States were born between 1970 and 2009. The Salvador you meet today is most often in his 20s or 30s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Where Salvador travels
Italian Brazilian · savior (Portuguese form of the Italian Salvatore)
Mexican American · a classic devotional name
Keep exploring
Nicknames for Salvador · Italian Brazilian baby names · Filipino American baby names · Mexican American baby names
The Salvador deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Salvador truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Salvador fits with your family’s names and surname.
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