FastNamesGavin
Celtic, Welsh and Scottish name meaning "Medieval Scottish and English development of the Arthurian knightly name Gawain, derived from Welsh Gwalchgwyn, meaning 'white hawk' or 'hawk of battle'.". Ranked 303rd for boys in 2025.
Meaning and origin of Gavin
Medieval Scottish and English development of the Arthurian knightly name Gawain, derived from Welsh Gwalchgwyn, meaning 'white hawk' or 'hawk of battle'.
Linguistically, Gavin is classified under Celtic, Welsh and Scottish naming traditions. It is typically pronounced "GAV-in".
Popularity and ranking
In official US Social Security birth records from 1880 through 2025, Gavin has been given to a total of 189,270 boys. It has also been given to 395 girls.
Peak year: Gavin reached its highest relative share among boys in 2008, when 11,752 babies received the name (5,760 per million births).
All-time best rank: 30th place, first achieved in 2008.
Recent standing (2025): Ranked 303rd with 1,125 births. Ten years earlier in 2015, it ranked 70th (down 233 spots).
Busiest decade: More boys were named Gavin in the 2000s than in any other decade (88,447 births).
| Decade | Recorded births |
|---|---|
| 1910s | 49 |
| 1920s | 124 |
| 1930s | 113 |
| 1940s | 177 |
| 1950s | 504 |
| 1960s | 1,571 |
| 1970s | 2,665 |
| 1980s | 5,382 |
| 1990s | 17,280 |
| 2000s | 88,447 |
| 2010s | 62,331 |
| 2020s | 10,627 |
Source: Social Security Administration, national baby name data, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
Where Gavin is most common in the US
Accounting for when Gavin was in fashion nationally, it has been most heavily concentrated in the following states (measured against the expected rate from each state's births):
- South Dakota: 1.8 times the national rate (814 births since 1910).
- North Dakota: 1.8 times the national rate (729 births since 1910).
- Maine: 1.7 times the national rate (980 births since 1910).
- New Hampshire: 1.7 times the national rate (991 births since 1910).
- Vermont: 1.7 times the national rate (368 births since 1910).
Source: Social Security Administration, baby names by state, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a state in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
How many people have the name Gavin?
About 186,000 living American boys and men share the name Gavin. Additionally, an estimated 390 living American girls and women share the name.
The median age of an American named Gavin is 18 years old.
Estimated from Social Security Administration records (1880–2025) and official SSA cohort mortality tables.
History of the name Gavin
Gavin is a medieval Anglo-Scottish given name derived as the Lowland Scots and northern English vernacular development of Gawain, the legendary knight of the Arthurian Round Table. The Arthurian name traces back to the ancient Brittonic and Welsh personal name Gwalchgwyn (compounded from gwalch, meaning 'hawk' or 'falcon', and gwyn, meaning 'white', 'fair', 'pure', or 'blessed'). In medieval chivalric romances, Sir Gawain was depicted as King Arthur's nephew and champion of chivalric virtue, celebrated in the fourteenth-century masterwork Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
In medieval Scotland, the name was widely adopted among noble Lowland families and anglicized as Gavin, notably borne by Gavin Douglas (c. 1474–1522), Bishop of Dunkeld and celebrated Scottish makar who produced the first full translation of Virgil's Aeneid into Scots, as well as Gavin Hamilton, prominent eighteenth-century neoclassical history painter and archaeologist. The name maintained steady regional prestige throughout Scotland for centuries.
In the United States, Gavin began a dramatic nationwide rise in the late 1990s, catalyzed by British rock singer Gavin Rossdale of the band Bush and California political leader Gavin Newsom. Entering the national top one hundred in 2000, Gavin climbed into the top thirty nationwide by 2008 with over 11,000 newborn boys per year. Modern parents favor Gavin for its spirited Arthurian heritage, brisk two-syllable rhythm, and balanced blend of traditional dignity and contemporary style.
Notable people named Gavin
- Gavin Newsom (1967–), 40th Governor of California and former Lieutenant Governor
- Gavin Rossdale (1965–), English musician, singer, and lead vocalist of rock band Bush
- Gavin MacLeod (1931–2021), American actor known for The Love Boat and The Mary Tyler Moore Show
- Gavin DeGraw (1977–), American singer-songwriter and musician known for I Don't Want to Be
Variants and related names
Spelling variants
Diminutives and nicknames
Related names
Sources and references
- George F. Black. The Surnames of Scotland (1946), p. 290.
- E. G. Withycombe. The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names (1977), p. 127.
- Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle, Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of First Names (2006), p. 106.