Dog name guide

Sava

The meaning, background and naming story of Sava.

Letters
4
Syllables
2Dictionary reading
Starts with
S

Meaning and background

The story behind Sava

Sava is an established masculine personal name in Serbian, Bulgarian and Ukrainian, normally written Сава in Cyrillic. Naming references connect it to Sabas and the Greek and Aramaic traditions behind that name. It is also the name of a major European river, an independent geographical association that should not be confused with the given-name derivation. The two short syllables make it easy to say in English.

Origin
Serbian, Bulgarian and Ukrainian form of the given name Sabas, transmitted through Greek and earlier Aramaic naming traditions. Source
Meaning
In its Sabas name-family derivation, ultimately connected with an Aramaic word for “old man” or “grandfather”. Source

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About Sava

Recorded as a dog’s name

Sava appears in 3 dog licence records in the 2022 New York City dataset.

How to read this count

These records cover New York City and may count the same dog in more than one licence period. They are not a national popularity ranking.

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Pronunciation and rhythm

/sɑvə/

US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.

Stress on the first syllable in the recorded US readings.

View dictionary notation

/sɑvə/ · primary stress on syllable 1
S AA1 V AH0

These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.

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Sources and research notes (2)
  • New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene NYC Dog Licensing Dataset — all seven available extract years, retrieved 24 October 2026 — Recorded name spellings in NYC licence-period rows, extract years 2016–2018, 2022–2024 and 2026. Evidence selects one stated year per name. Annual snapshots overlap; never sum them as unique dogs. No national popularity, etymology or owner naming-intent claim.
  • Carnegie Mellon University / CMU Sphinx maintainers CMU US English Pronouncing Dictionary — US English dictionary readings; not owner-specific or exhaustive multilingual pronunciation

References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.

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Suggestions by sound, written form or existing editorial selections. Similarity does not imply a shared origin.

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