Arven
A masculine name of Iranian Persian origin meaning "the brave one".
Name Census estimates that about 2 living Americans carry the first name Arven. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Arven today is around 88 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Arven births was 1925 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Arven. 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 Arven with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Arven is about 88 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Arvens were born before 1948.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Arven. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
2
~ 1 in 171,377,169 Americans
Peak year
1925
5 babies that year
Average age
88
years old
1938 SSA rank
#3,554
Tracked since 1925
Popularity
Arven: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Arven from the 1920s through to the 1930s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 10 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Arven remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Arven 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 Arven during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Arven
The given name Arven has its roots in the Old Norse language, originating from the Nordic countries of Scandinavia during the Viking Age, around the 8th to 11th centuries. It is derived from the Old Norse word "arfr," meaning "inheritance" or "legacy." In those times, the name likely symbolized the importance of preserving one's family lineage and passing down traditions to future generations.
While the name Arven does not appear to have been mentioned in any major ancient texts or religious scriptures, it was commonly used among the Norse people during the Viking era. The earliest recorded instance of the name dates back to the 9th century, found in the Icelandic sagas, which were oral histories transcribed from the 12th to 14th centuries.
One notable historical figure bearing the name Arven was Arven Ivarsson, a Viking chieftain who led a successful raid on the English coast in the late 9th century. His exploits were documented in the Ragnarssona þáttr, a Norse saga from the 13th century.
Another prominent individual with this name was Arven Sigurdsson, a Norwegian nobleman and landowner who lived in the late 10th century. He was known for his involvement in the Viking settlement of Greenland and is mentioned in the Eiriks saga rauða, a saga detailing the Norse exploration of North America.
In the 11th century, Arven Thorvaldsson was a renowned Icelandic skald, or poet, who composed several celebrated poems and verses that were later recorded in the Codex Regius, a collection of Old Norse poetry.
During the 12th century, Arven Ketilsson was a respected lawspeaker in the Icelandic Commonwealth, responsible for reciting and interpreting the laws at the Althing, the ancient Icelandic parliament.
Lastly, Arven Gudmundsson was a 14th-century Icelandic chieftain and landowner, known for his involvement in the Sturlung Age, a period of civil conflict in Iceland during the 13th and 14th centuries.
People
Arven + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Arven 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
Arven: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Arven?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Arven 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 171,377,169 US residents.
Is Arven a common name?
We classify Arven as "Very Rare". It ranks above 4.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 15 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Arven most popular?
The single biggest year for Arven was 1925, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Arven is about 88 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 Arven in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Arven a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Arven 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 Arven still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Arven 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 Arven 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 people are called Arven?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.