How rare is the name Sal?

7,124 people in the United States have the first name Sal, about 1 in 42,396. It ranks #3,096 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

SAL

#3,096

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
7,124
About
1 in 42,396
This common or more
81.6%
Who bears it

Of the 7,124 people named Sal, 57.6% reported their origin as White, 33.3% as Hispanic or Latino and 4.8% as Asian or Pacific Islander. 96% are male. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Sal peaked in 1958, when 114 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
19092025
Peak year
1958
Births that year
114
In 2025*
13 ▼89%
Recorded as
almost entirely male

At least 3,663 babies have been given the name since 1909. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Sal by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1940s, when it ranked #1,986. The largest share of babies named Sal, 32.9%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).

1900s#4,5168
1910s#3,113158
1920s#2,819274
1930s#2,044405
1940s#1,986529
1950s#2,329531
1960s#2,075759
1970s#3,852328
1980s#6,325203
1990s#7,803211
2000s#14,220123
2010s#21,46565
2020s#14,80669
Greatest Generation 1901–2710.5%
Silent Generation 1928–4521.5%
Baby boom 1946–6432.9%
Generation X 1965–8017.4%
Millennials 1981–969.7%
Generation Z 1997–124.8%
2013 and later3.3%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Sal is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Sal has been most common in New York (7.8×), New Jersey (2.9×), and California (2.8×), and least common in California (2.8×).

2,357 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Sal

#3,094 Shae · 7,128#3,095 Jacquelin · 7,127#3,097 Theodora · 7,119#3,098 Cuong · 7,113

Spelled almost the same

7 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Sal, most common first.

#871 Saul · 51,866#17,567 Sali · 625#18,988 Saly · 563#19,274 Sala · 551#29,411 Sael · 301#49,815 Sale · 123#53,461 Salo · 99

Also a last name

As a last name, Sal ranks #44,979 of 156,621, with 513 people. See Sal as a last name

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