Luv
A modern invented name derived from the word for love.
Name Census estimates that about 181 living Americans carry the first name Luv. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 56.5% of registrations being female. The average person named Luv today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Luv births was 2023 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Luv. 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 Luv with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
181
~ 1 in 1,893,670 Americans
Peak year
2023
16 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,772
Tracked since 1970
Census
Luv in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 347 people with the first name Luv, which placed it at #26,696 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
#26,696
National first-name rank
People counted
347
347 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
41.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Luv
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Luv is Asian/Pacific Islander at 41.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (24.2%) and Black (15.6%). 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 Luv 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 Luv at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander41.2% · 143
- Hispanic or Latino24.2% · 84
- Black or African American15.6% · 54
- White14.1% · 49
- Two or more races4.9% · 17
Gender
Gender distribution for Luv
Luv is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 186 total registrations, 81 (43.5%) were male and 105 (56.5%) were female.
Luv as a male name
- Ranked #11,772 in 2024
- 6 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2017 (10 births)
Luv as a female name
- Ranked #14,501 in 2024
- 6 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (10 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Luv on both sides of the split. Of the 347 people counted with this name, 164 were male (47.3%) and 183 were female (52.7%).
Popularity
Luv: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Luv from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 56 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Luv 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 Luv during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Luv
The given name Luv is a relatively modern name, having its origins in the 20th century. It is derived from the English word "love," which itself traces its origins back to the Old English word "lufu," meaning affection or fondness.
The name Luv is thought to have been first used as a given name in the United States during the 1960s, a period marked by the counterculture movement and a renewed emphasis on ideals such as peace and love. It was likely chosen as a name to reflect these sentiments and the desire for a more loving and harmonious world.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Luv can be found in the 1968 film "Candy," where a character named Luv is introduced. This film, based on the novel by Terry Southern, was a satirical exploration of the sexual revolution and counterculture movement of the time, further cementing the name's association with the era's ideals.
Throughout the latter half of the 20th century, the name Luv gained popularity, particularly among families seeking unique and meaningful names for their children. Some notable individuals who have borne the name Luv include:
1. Luv Sinha (born 1983), an Indian actress and the daughter of renowned actors Shatrughan Sinha and Poonam Sinha.
2. Luv Bhanot (born 1993), an Indian television actor known for his roles in shows like "Kundali Bhagya" and "Sadda Haq."
3. Luv Israni (born 1981), an Indian film director and screenwriter who has worked on projects like "Dhamaal" and "Fukrey."
4. Luv Randhawa (born 1992), an Indian cricketer who has represented Punjab in domestic cricket tournaments.
5. Luv Grosberg (born 1981), an Israeli entrepreneur and the founder of the real estate technology company LeaseLock.
While the name Luv remains relatively uncommon, it has endured as a symbol of the ideals and values that emerged during the counterculture movement of the 1960s. Its unique spelling and meaningful origin have made it a popular choice for parents seeking a name that reflects their hopes and aspirations for their child.
People
Luv + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Luv as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Luv: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Luv?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 181 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Luv 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 1,893,670 US residents.
Is Luv a common name?
We classify Luv as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 186 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Luv most popular?
The single biggest year for Luv was 2023, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Luv is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Luv in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 347 people with the name Luv, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,696 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 Luv 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 Luv?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Luv on both sides of the split. Of the 347 people counted with this name, 164 were male (47.3%) and 183 were female (52.7%). 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 Luv?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Luv is Asian/Pacific Islander at 41.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (24.2%) and Black (15.6%). 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 Luv most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Luv in the 2020 Census, accounting for 41.2% (143 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 Luv in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Luv a female name?
Yes, 56.5% of people registered as Luv in the SSA data are female. 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 Luv still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Luv 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 Luv 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 Luv as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Luv, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.