Alven
Of Old Norse origin, meaning "elf" or "magical being".
Name Census estimates that about 128 living Americans carry the first name Alven. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Alven today is around 69 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alven births was 1922 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alven. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Alven is about 69 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Alvens were born before 1967.
People living today
128
~ 1 in 2,677,768 Americans
Peak year
1922
20 babies that year
Average age
69
years old
2012 SSA rank
#12,358
Tracked since 1905
Census
Alven in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 235 people with the first name Alven, which placed it at #34,648 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
#34,648
National first-name rank
People counted
235
235 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
33.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alven
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alven is White at 33.2%. The next largest groups are Black (27.7%) and Hispanic (17.9%). 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 Alven 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 Alven at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White33.2% · 78
- Black or African American27.7% · 65
- Hispanic or Latino17.9% · 42
- Asian and Pacific Islander17.4% · 41
- Two or more races2.6% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 3
Popularity
Alven: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alven from the 1900s through to the 2010s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 138 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Alven 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 Alven during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Alvens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Missouri, Iowa, Louisiana recorded the most babies named Alven, while Louisiana, Iowa, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 5 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Alven
The name Alven is believed to have originated from the Old Norse language, spoken by the ancient Scandinavian people during the Viking Age, which lasted from the late 8th century to the late 11th century. It is derived from the Old Norse word "alfr," which means "elf" or "supernatural being." The name's roots can be traced back to the rich mythology and folklore of the Norse people, who revered these mystical creatures.
In Norse mythology, elves were depicted as beautiful, intelligent, and powerful beings that inhabited the realm of Alfheim. They were often associated with nature, fertility, and protection. The name Alven may have been given to children with the hope that they would possess the qualities attributed to elves, such as grace, wisdom, and good fortune.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Alven can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of medieval tales that recount the lives and adventures of the Norse settlers in Iceland. In the Saga of Erik the Red, written around the 13th century, there is a character named Alven Thorvaldsson, who accompanied Erik the Red on his expeditions to Greenland.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Alven. Alven Neelund (1692-1779) was a Danish naval officer and explorer who served in the Royal Danish Navy during the 18th century. He is known for his expeditions to the Arctic regions and his contributions to the mapping of Greenland's coastline.
Another prominent figure was Alven Grönvall (1858-1925), a Swedish botanist and professor at the University of Stockholm. He made significant contributions to the study of plant taxonomy and is known for his work on the flora of Scandinavia.
In the realm of literature, Alven Tolf (1876-1949) was a Swedish writer and poet who is remembered for his lyrical works that celebrated nature and the beauty of the Swedish countryside.
Additionally, Alven Eriksson (1901-1977) was a Finnish athlete who competed in the Olympic Games of 1924 and 1928, where he won a silver medal in the javelin throw.
Lastly, Alven Ghazi (1920-2010) was a renowned Syrian poet and playwright, considered one of the most influential literary figures in the Arab world. His works explored themes of love, freedom, and social justice, and he was widely celebrated for his contributions to Arabic literature.
People
Alven + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alven as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Alven: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alven?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 128 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alven 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 2,677,768 US residents.
Is Alven a common name?
We classify Alven as "Very Rare". It ranks above 68.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 462 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alven most popular?
The single biggest year for Alven was 1922, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alven is about 69 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Alven in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 235 people with the name Alven, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #34,648 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 Alven 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 Alven?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Alven leans strongly male. 226 people counted with this name were male (97.8%), compared with 5 female bearers (2.2%). 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 Alven?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alven is White at 33.2%. The next largest groups are Black (27.7%) and Hispanic (17.9%). 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 Alven most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Alven in the 2020 Census, accounting for 33.2% (78 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 Alven in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Alven a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Alven 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 Alven still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Alven 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 Alven 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 Alven as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.