Savannah

Savannah meaning

Savannah is an international girl's name of Taino origin (via Spanish).

A treeless grassy plain; Spanish sabana, from Taino zabana

Also used to mean: open grassland, treeless plain

Savannah is the English word for a wide, treeless grassy plain. The Online Etymology Dictionary traces it to Spanish sabana, earlier zavana, recorded by the chronicler Oviedo in 1535, from zabana in Taino, the Arawakan language of the Caribbean islands at the time of Columbus. The city of Savannah in Georgia has a separate and less certain origin, possibly from a name for a Native American people of that coast. The name suggests open country and wildlife, like the African savannah. It is said suh-VAN-uh and is easy to pair with Indian surnames.

Source: Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com) · entry savannah · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026

References: Online Etymology Dictionary, savannah

Popularity abroad

• #135 United States, girls 2025 (down 27 from 108 in 2024)
  US Social Security Administration
• #222 England and Wales, girls 2025
  Office for National Statistics

Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.

Spellings

Savannah · Savanna · Savana

Related names

Also meaning nature

Also starting with Sav-

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