Duval
A French name with Spanish influence, possibly derived from a noble title.
Name Census estimates that about 374 living Americans carry the first name Duval. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Duval today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Duval births was 1968 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Duval. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Duval with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
374
~ 1 in 916,455 Americans
Peak year
1968
13 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
2022 SSA rank
#12,857
Tracked since 1915
Census
Duval in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 514 people with the first name Duval, which placed it at #20,187 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#20,187
National first-name rank
People counted
514
514 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
54.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Duval
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Duval is Black at 54.9%. The next largest groups are White (19.8%) and Hispanic (19.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Duval described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Duval at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American54.9% · 282
- White19.8% · 102
- Hispanic or Latino19.3% · 99
- Two or more races2.9% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 3
Popularity
Duval: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Duval from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 88 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Duval by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Duval during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Duvals live
Origin
Meaning and history of Duval
The name Duval is derived from the French language and has its origins in the Middle Ages. It is a variant spelling of the French surname "du Val," which translates to "of the valley." The name is believed to have originated as a descriptive term for individuals who lived in or near a valley.
During the medieval period, the name Duval was particularly prevalent in northern France, particularly in the regions of Normandy and Brittany. It was often used as a surname to distinguish families or individuals from a specific geographic location, such as a particular valley or settlement.
While the name Duval does not appear to have any direct references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it has been recorded in historical documents and records from the Middle Ages onward. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Duval can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land and property in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Duval. One of the earliest was Guillaume Duval (c. 1190-1249), a French prelate who served as the Bishop of Lisieux from 1227 until his death. Another prominent figure was Claude Duval (c. 1643-1670), a famous French highwayman and outlaw who became renowned for his daring robberies and gentlemanly conduct.
In the realm of art, the name Duval is associated with Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (1824-1898), a renowned French painter known for his murals and allegorical works. In literature, the French author and philosopher Henri Duval (1812-1882) gained recognition for his writings on philosophy and education.
Another notable figure was Fernand Duval (1889-1957), a French actor and film director who appeared in numerous films during the early 20th century. In the field of sports, Duval was the surname of John Duval (1766-1822), an English cricketer who played for Hampshire and England during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have borne the name Duval, showcasing its enduring presence across various fields and cultures over several centuries.
People
Duval + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Duval as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Duval: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Duval?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 374 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Duval going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 916,455 US residents.
Is Duval a common name?
We classify Duval as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 532 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Duval most popular?
The single biggest year for Duval was 1968, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Duval is about 49 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Duval in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 514 people with the name Duval, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,187 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Duval in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Duval?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Duval leans strongly male. 480 people counted with this name were male (95.0%), compared with 25 female bearers (5.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Duval?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Duval is Black at 54.9%. The next largest groups are White (19.8%) and Hispanic (19.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Duval most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Duval in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.9% (282 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Duval in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Duval a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Duval in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Duval still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Duval in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Duval can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Duval?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.