Sal

Where Sal comes from

The dictionaries list Sal as a given name — a diminutive of the male given names Salomon, Salvador, and Salvatore — but don't trace where it came from. The record below is what the SSA data shows.

Along the way
  1. 1909
    First appearance
    #1,083 among boys, 8 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1936
    Sal Buscema born
    American comic book artist
  3. 1958
    Peak, #701
    114 babies named Sal — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1968
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #1,006.
  5. 1987
    Sal Zizzo born
    American soccer player
In the dictionary
  • A diminutive of the male given names Salomon, Salvador, and Salvatore.
  • A diminutive of the female given name Sally.
Namesakes
  • Sal Buscema · American comic book artist, 1936–2026
  • Sal Zizzo · American soccer player, born 1987
  • Sal Abruscato · American musician, born 1970
  • Sal Bartolo · American boxer, 1917–2002
  • Sal Salvador · American bebop jazz guitarist and a prominent music educator, 1925–1999

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.