Fun Facts About the Name Sava
- 222 babies named Sava: U.S. records list 222 babies given the name Sava from 1880 through 2025. Even 10 girls received the name Sava - about 1 girl for every 21 boys.
What Does the Name Sava Mean?
Sava is a masculine given name used chiefly in Serbia, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and other Orthodox Slavic lands. It is the Slavic form of the Greek name Sabbas (Σάββας), a name from the early Christian East. The usual explanation traces Sabbas to Aramaic sabba, meaning "old man" or "elder." A second explanation links it instead to Hebrew shabbat, "Sabbath" or "rest," the root behind the word Sabbath. Because the Semitic word reached Slavic through Greek, the exact sense behind Sabbas is not settled; the "elder" explanation is the one most often given, and the "Sabbath" one is a real competing view rather than a certainty.
Sava Name History & Origins
The name reached the Slavic world with Christianity, through Greek church usage. Its earliest famous bearer was Saint Sabbas the Sanctified (439 - 532), a Palestinian monk who founded a large monastery near Jerusalem; his name spread widely in the Orthodox East. In the Slavic south, Sabbas took the shorter form Sava; Russian usage instead favors Savva.
Sava is closely associated with Saint Sava, born Rastko Nemanjić (1175 - 1236). A Serbian prince, he became a monk on Mount Athos and then the first archbishop of the autocephalous Serbian Orthodox Church. He is honored as the patron saint of Serbia and of Serbian schools, and the name is one of the most recognizable in Serbian tradition. Later Serbian bishops and writers also bore it.
A separate use is the Hungarian feminine name Száva, which is taken from the Sava River and not from the saint's name. The river's own name is older and of uncertain origin.
How Popular is the Name Sava?
Sava has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2022. Its best rank was #6,093 in 2022.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | #17,219 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2013 | #18,821 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #9,566 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2024 | #6,740 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 2023 | #7,218 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2022 | #6,093 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 2021 | #7,023 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2020 | #11,774 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2019 | #8,745 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2018 | #7,050 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2017 | #10,580 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2016 | #9,524 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2015 | #11,844 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2014 | #11,867 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2013 | #6,553 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2012 | #9,556 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2011 | #7,959 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2010 | #9,518 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2009 | #12,220 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2008 | #12,297 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2007 | #8,801 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 2006 | #8,607 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 2005 | #13,016 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2003 | #12,435 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2002 | #12,176 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2001 | #10,326 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2000 | #8,073 | 8 | 0.0004% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Sava Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are spiritually intense and can sting or charm. Your name brings love and new starts into life and attracts money. In business, you are the creator and promoter of original ideas and usually enjoy considerable financial success. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You are very intuitive. You have a reservoir of inspired wisdom combined with inherited analytical ability, which could reward you through expressions of spiritual leadership, business analysis, marketing, artistic visions, and scientific research. Operating on spiritual side of your individuality can bring you to the great heights, and drop you off if you neglect your spiritual identity. You are always looking for an opportunity to investigate the unknown, to use and show your mental abilities, to find the purpose and meaning of life. You want to grow wise and to understand people and things. You need privacy to replenish your energy. You have a unique way of thinking, intuitive, reflective, absorbing.
✦ Sava's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Sava's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.