Gaven
A masculine name, likely of Welsh origin, with an uncertain meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 3,777 living Americans carry the first name Gaven. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Gaven today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gaven births was 2003 (282 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gaven. 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.
People living today
3.8K
~ 1 in 90,748 Americans
Peak year
2003
282 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,519
Tracked since 1972
Census
Gaven in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,351 people with the first name Gaven, which placed it at #5,194 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
#5,194
National first-name rank
People counted
3.4K
3,351 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
73.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gaven
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gaven is White at 73.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.3%) and Two or More Races (6.3%). 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 Gaven 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 Gaven at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.9% · 2,478
- Hispanic or Latino10.3% · 344
- Two or more races6.3% · 211
- Black or African American5.8% · 194
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 87
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 37
Popularity
Gaven: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gaven from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 2,251 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gaven 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 Gaven during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gavens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 35 states and territories. Texas, Ohio, California recorded the most babies named Gaven, while Idaho, Hawaii, West Virginia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 66 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gaven
The given name Gaven has its origins in the Celtic languages of Britain and Ireland, dating back to the Early Middle Ages. It is derived from the Welsh word "gafyn," meaning "hawk" or "falcon." The name was originally spelled as "Gawain" or "Gawayn" and was popular among the Welsh and Britons during the 5th to 7th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of this name can be found in the Arthurian legends, where Gawain (also spelled Gawaine or Gwalchmei) was a celebrated knight of King Arthur's Round Table. He was known for his bravery, courtesy, and adherence to the chivalric code. The character of Gawain appeared in various medieval romances and poems, such as the 14th-century alliterative poem "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight."
In the 12th century, a Welsh prince named Gawain ap Maredydd was a prominent figure in the struggle against Norman rule in Wales. He is mentioned in the Brut y Tywysogion (Chronicle of the Princes) for his military exploits and resistance against the invading forces.
Another notable figure with the name Gaven was Gawain Douglas (c. 1474-1522), a Scottish poet and translator who is best known for his translation of Virgil's Aeneid into Middle Scots. His work played a significant role in the development of Scottish literature and the promotion of the Scots language.
In the 16th century, Gawain Townsend (c. 1558-1612) was an English composer and organist who served at various churches and cathedrals, including Westminster Abbey. He was renowned for his contributions to the development of English church music during the Renaissance period.
Gaven Wilkinson (1833-1891) was a British architect and engineer who is best remembered for his work on the Royal Albert Hall in London. He was also involved in the construction of several railway stations and other notable buildings in the Victorian era.
While the name Gaven fell out of widespread use in more recent centuries, it has experienced a resurgence in popularity in some regions, particularly in Wales and parts of the United States, where it is often spelled as "Gavin." However, its historical roots and association with the Arthurian legends and medieval literature have solidified its place in the annals of given names with a rich cultural heritage.
People
Gaven + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gaven as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Gaven: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gaven?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,777 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gaven 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 90,748 US residents.
Is Gaven a common name?
We classify Gaven as "Rare". It ranks above 95.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,832 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gaven most popular?
The single biggest year for Gaven was 2003, when 282 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gaven is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Gaven in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,351 people with the name Gaven, or 1.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,194 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 Gaven 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 Gaven?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gaven appears almost entirely male. Of the 3,350 people counted with this name, 99.3% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Gaven?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gaven is White at 73.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.3%) and Two or More Races (6.3%). 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 Gaven most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Gaven in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.9% (2,478 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 Gaven in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gaven a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gaven 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 Gaven still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gaven 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 Gaven 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 have the name Gaven?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Gaven, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.