Savage

Etymology

Savage comes through Anglo-French from Old French sauvage, meaning “wild” or “uncultivated,” ultimately from Latin silvaticus, “of the woods” or “forest-dwelling,” from silva, “wood, forest.” In surname use, it was originally a nickname rather than a statement about ancestry. The sense was likely “rough,” “wild,” or “fierce,” much like English Wild.

History

Historical writers noted the name in England and Normandy as an early sobriquet, and later tradition connected it with families in England and Ireland. Lower reported a story that the name was brought into England in the entourage of Isabella of France, though he also noted earlier bearers, including a knight said to have established a Savage family in Ireland after De Courcy’s invasion. Bardsley likewise treated Savage as a common nickname surname and recorded variant forms such as Salvage and Sauvage.

Origin

Regions

Variant spellings

Fun fact

Bardsley grouped Savage with other nickname surnames like Wild, noting that the “fierce” or “wild” idea seems to have made such names memorable and popular.

Related surnames