Saavedra (surname)

Saavedra is a Galician surname, meaning "Old Hall" (Lat. Sala Vetera > Saa Vedra, Sala itself is of Germanic origin), equivalent to Spanish Salavieja, meaning exactly the same. The loss of intervocalic l is characteristic of Galician-Portuguese. It is also common the surname Saa (Sá in modern Portuguese orthography).

Notable people with the surname include:

• Abelardo Saavedra, American school district superintendent
• Carlos Saavedra Gutiérrez, Puerto Rican lawyer, Secretary of Labor of Puerto Rico (2017-2019)
• Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón, Spanish explorer
• Asya and Chloe Saavedra, American musicians, members of Chaos Chaos
• Catalina Saavedra (born 1968), Chilean television and film actress
• Cornelio Saavedra (1761–1829), Argentine soldier and politician
• Cornelio Saavedra Rodríguez (1823–1891), Chilean soldier, grandson of Cornelio Saavedra
• Craig Saavedra (born 1963), American film director
• Daniel Ortega, full name José Daniel Ortega Saavedra (born 1945), Nicaraguan politician
• Diego de Saavedra Fajardo (1584–1648), Spanish diplomat
• Francisco Saavedra de Sangronis (1746–1819), Spanish diplomat and administrator
• Guillermo Saavedra (footballer) (1903–1957), Chilean footballer
• Guillermo Saavedra (poet) (born 1960), Argentine poet
• Héctor Puebla Saavedra (born 1955), Chilean footballer
• Hernando Arias de Saavedra (1561–1634), governor of the Río de la Plata in 1592–1594, 1597–1599, 1602–1609, 1615–1617, 1617–1618
• José Alfredo Saavedra (born 1964), Honduran politician
• José Vilalta Saavedra (1865–1912), Cuban sculptor
• Luis Saavedra (1935−2013), Spanish footballer
• Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547–1616), Spanish writer, author of Don Quixote
• Nélson Saavedra (born 1988), Chilean footballer
• Raúl Saavedra (born 1978), Argentinian football defender
• Raúl Saavedra (cyclist) (born 1969), Colombian road cyclist
• Sebastián Saavedra (born 1990), Colombian race car driver