Arvand
A Persian name likely derived from the Arvand River meaning "swift river".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Arvand. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Arvand today is around 3 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Arvand births was 2023 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Arvand. 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 Arvand with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Arvand. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2023
5 babies that year
Average age
3
years old
2023 SSA rank
#12,398
Tracked since 2023
Popularity
Arvand: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Arvand 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 Arvand during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Arvand
The name Arvand has its origins in ancient Persian culture, dating back to the Achaemenid Empire which ruled over modern-day Iran and surrounding regions from around 550 BCE to 330 BCE. The name is derived from the Old Persian word "arvan" meaning "brave" or "courageous".
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Arvand can be found in the Behistun Inscription, a multilingual inscription carved into a rockface in present-day Kermanshah Province of Iran. The inscription, commissioned by the Achaemenid king Darius the Great in around 520 BCE, includes the name "Arvanda" as one of the provinces under his rule.
In ancient Zoroastrian texts, such as the Avesta, there are references to an entity or spirit known as "Arvand-Ushtra", which is believed to represent the personification of courage and bravery. This association with valor and strength likely contributed to the popularity of the name in ancient Persian society.
One of the earliest known individuals to bear the name was Arvand, a prominent Persian military commander who served under the Sasanian king Shapur II in the 4th century CE. He is mentioned in several historical accounts for his role in campaigns against the Roman Empire and his successful defense of the city of Amida (modern-day Diyarbakır, Turkey) against a Roman siege in 359 CE.
Another notable figure was Arvand ibn Narseh, a Persian nobleman and governor of Khorasan during the Abbasid Caliphate in the 9th century CE. He is recorded as having played a crucial role in suppressing the Khurramite rebellion, a religious and social uprising that threatened the stability of the region.
In the 11th century CE, Arvand al-Jili was a renowned Sufi mystic and philosopher from Gilan, Iran. He wrote several influential works on Sufism, including the treatise "Al-Insān al-Kāmil" (The Perfect Man), which explored the concept of the human being as a microcosm of the divine.
During the Safavid dynasty in Persia (16th-18th centuries CE), the name Arvand continued to be used, with one example being Arvand Khan, a military commander who served under Shah Abbas I in the early 17th century. He is noted for his participation in campaigns against the Ottoman Empire and his role in the expansion of Safavid territories.
People
Arvand + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Arvand 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
Arvand: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Arvand?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Arvand 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Arvand a common name?
We classify Arvand as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Arvand most popular?
The single biggest year for Arvand was 2023, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Arvand is about 3 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Arvand in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Arvand a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Arvand 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 Arvand still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Arvand 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 Arvand 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Arvand?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.