Gavin
Gavin is a Celtic male given name. It is the Scottish variation of the medieval Welsh name Gawain, meaning 'God send' or 'white hawk/falcon'. Sir Gawain is a knight of King Arthur's Round Table. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is an epic poem in which he beheads the Green Knight, who promptly replaces his head and threatens Gawain an identical fate the same time next year.
- English
- Scottish
Meaning & Origin of Gavin
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Gavin is a Celtic male given name. It is the Scottish variation of the medieval Welsh name Gawain, meaning 'God send' or 'white hawk/falcon'. Sir Gawain is a knight of King Arthur's Round Table. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is an epic poem in which he beheads the Green Knight, who promptly replaces his head and threatens Gawain an identical fate the same time next year.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- English
- Scottish
The Story of Gavin
The earliest SSA record of Gavin as a baby boy name dates back to 1913, when 5 babies received it. 2007 was its biggest year on record, with 11,863 newborns named Gavin — #32 in the national rankings. About 46% of every Gavin on record arrived during the 2000s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Gavin ranks #331 for baby boys with 1,053 births, falling sharply (-55%). All told, over 190K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1910s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Notable people named Gavin
A small selection from Wikipedia. Tap "Read more" below to see the full list on Wikipedia.
- Gavin Adcock (born 1998), American singer and songwriter
- Gavin Affleck (born 1958), Canadian architect
- Gavin Allen (born 1965), Australian rugby league player
- Gavin Andresen (born 1966), American software developer
- Gavin Andrews (born 1931), Australian academic and psychiatrist
- Gavin Annandale (born 1989), South African rugby union player
- Gavin Arneil (1923–2018), Scottish paediatric nephrologist
- Gavin Arroyo (born 1972), American water polo player
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Names that sound like Gavin
Phonetically similar names — useful when Gavin is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Gavin
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About the name Gavin
Gavin is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1913 and has accumulated 190K births in the dataset. Gavin's peak popularity came in 2007 when it ranked #30. Use the chart and map above to compare Gavin's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 2007 →
- Names of the 2000s →
- Names starting with "G" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.