Meaning & use
Salvador
Last updated
Meanings
proper nounproper
A man's first name in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking cultures, meaning savior.
Grammar: Capitalized as a name: Salvador Dalí.
Patterns
- Salvador Dalí
Salvador waved to his cousins from the platform.
The painter Salvador Dalí was known for his curved clocks and waxed mustache.
Mrs. Reyes named her son Salvador after his grandfather.
proper nounproper
A large port city in northeastern Brazil, capital of the state of Bahia and an early colonial capital.
Grammar: No article is used: she flew to Salvador.
Patterns
- fly to Salvador
- in Salvador
Salvador is known for its music, food, and colorful old town.
The festival in Salvador draws crowds from all over Brazil.
They spent a week on the beaches near Salvador.
Common combinations
- Salvador da Bahia
- Salvador da Bahia is the city's full name.
- El Salvador
- El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America.
- San Salvador
- San Salvador is the capital of El Salvador.
- Salvador Dalí
- Salvador Dalí painted in the surrealist style.
- born in Salvador
- The musician was born in Salvador.
Synonyms and how they differ
- savior
- Savior is the English meaning of the name, but it is a common noun, while Salvador is a name.
- Salvadoran
- Salvadoran means someone or something from El Salvador, not the Brazilian city.
Word family
Commonly confused: Salvador or El Salvador? Salvador or salvage?
Salvador vs El Salvador
El Salvador is a country in Central America, while Salvador is a Brazilian city and a given name.
Salvador vs salvage
Salvage means to save something from loss or damage, and is unrelated to the name beyond sharing a Latin root.
Practice
What is Salvador, the capital of the Brazilian state of Bahia?
Choose one answer.
Salvador is a Brazilian port city. The country is El Salvador, and the other choices are unrelated places.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Salvador”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.