Norvell
Derived from the Old Norse words "norðr" meaning north and "vollr" meaning field.
Name Census estimates that about 616 living Americans carry the first name Norvell. It is a predominantly male name (90.8% of registrations). The average person named Norvell today is around 62 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Norvell births was 1936 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Norvell. 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
616
~ 1 in 556,419 Americans
Peak year
1936
27 babies that year
Average age
62
years old
2012 SSA rank
#4,305
Tracked since 1905
Census
Norvell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 591 people with the first name Norvell, which placed it at #18,272 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
#18,272
National first-name rank
People counted
591
591 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
66.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Norvell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Norvell is Black at 66.5%. The next largest groups are White (27.9%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Norvell 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 Norvell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American66.5% · 393
- White27.9% · 165
- Two or more races2.5% · 15
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Norvell
Norvell leans heavily male at 90.8% of total registrations, but 117 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Norvell as a male name
- Ranked #11,846 in 2012
- 6 male births in 2012
- Peak: 1941 (27 births)
Norvell as a female name
- Ranked #4,305 in 1946
- 7 female births in 1946
- Peak: 1919 (10 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Norvell leans strongly male. 532 people counted with this name were male (89.7%), compared with 61 female bearers (10.3%).
Popularity
Norvell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Norvell from the 1900s through to the 2010s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 204 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1930s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Norvell 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 Norvell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Norvells live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Texas, Missouri, Arkansas recorded the most babies named Norvell, while Louisiana, Illinois, Arkansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 8 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Norvell
The name Norvell is believed to have its origins in the Old Norse language, which was spoken by the Scandinavian people during the Viking Age, from around the 8th to the 11th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old Norse word "Norðrvellir," which translates to "northern field" or "northern plains."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Norvell can be found in the Icelandic sagas, which were written in the 13th and 14th centuries and recount the stories and histories of the Norse people. The name appears to have been used primarily in Scandinavia and the areas influenced by Norse culture, such as parts of present-day Britain and Ireland.
In the Middle Ages, the name Norvell was associated with the Normans, a group of Viking settlers who conquered parts of northern France and eventually invaded England in 1066. Some historical records from this period mention individuals bearing the name Norvell, although specific details are scarce.
One notable figure with the name Norvell was Norvell de Longchamp, a Norman knight who lived in the late 12th century. He is mentioned in the chronicles of the time as a loyal supporter of King Richard I of England, also known as Richard the Lionheart.
Another person of note was Norvell de Mornay, a French Protestant theologian and diplomat who lived from 1549 to 1623. He played a significant role in the French Wars of Religion and was a close advisor to King Henry IV of France.
In the 18th century, Norvell Churchill, an English politician and soldier, served as a member of parliament and fought in the War of the Austrian Succession. He lived from 1718 to 1783.
Moving to the 19th century, Norvell Robertson was an American judge and politician who served as a judge in the Supreme Court of Virginia from 1829 to 1846. He was born in 1786 and died in 1854.
Lastly, Norvell Hardy, an American actor and comedian, was a member of the famous comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. Born in 1892, he appeared in numerous films and shorts alongside his partner Stan Laurel and became a beloved figure in the entertainment industry until his death in 1957.
People
Norvell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Norvell as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Norvell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Norvell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 616 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Norvell 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 556,419 US residents.
Is Norvell a common name?
We classify Norvell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,275 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Norvell most popular?
The single biggest year for Norvell was 1936, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Norvell is about 62 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Norvell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 591 people with the name Norvell, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,272 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 Norvell 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 Norvell?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Norvell leans strongly male. 532 people counted with this name were male (89.7%), compared with 61 female bearers (10.3%). 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 Norvell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Norvell is Black at 66.5%. The next largest groups are White (27.9%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Norvell most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Norvell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.5% (393 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 Norvell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Norvell a male name?
Yes, 90.8% of people registered as Norvell 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 Norvell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Norvell 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 Norvell 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 Norvell as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.