Savage Family History

English and Scottish: nickname for a wild or uncouth person, from Middle English, Old French salvage, sauvage ‘untamed’ (Late Latin salvaticus literally ‘man of the woods’, a derivative of Latin silva ‘wood’, influenced by Latin salvus ‘whole’, i.e. natural). Irish: generally of English origin (it was taken to County Down in the 12th century), this name has also sometimes been adopted as equivalent of Gaelic Ó Sabháin, the name of a small south Munster sept, which was earlier Anglicized as O’Savin (see Savin). Americanized form of Ashkenazic Jewish Savich.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press