Arvin
A masculine name of Persian origin meaning "wise" or "friend".
Name Census estimates that about 3,479 living Americans carry the first name Arvin. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Arvin today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Arvin births was 2017 (106 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Arvin. 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 Arvin with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.5K
~ 1 in 98,521 Americans
Peak year
2017
106 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,113
Tracked since 1887
Census
Arvin in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,112 people with the first name Arvin, which placed it at #4,503 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
#4,503
National first-name rank
People counted
4.1K
4,112 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
41.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Arvin
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Arvin is Asian/Pacific Islander at 41.2%. The next largest groups are White (37.9%) and Black (8.3%). 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 Arvin 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 Arvin at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander41.2% · 1,695
- White37.9% · 1,558
- Black or African American8.3% · 341
- Hispanic or Latino7.5% · 307
- Two or more races3.3% · 137
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 74
Popularity
Arvin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Arvin from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 755 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Arvin remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Arvin 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 Arvin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Arvins live
The SSA's state-level files cover 26 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Arvin, while West Virginia, Tennessee, Maryland recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 66 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Arvin
The name Arvin is of Persian origin and is derived from the old Iranian word "arvand" or "arvan," meaning "brave" or "courageous." This name has been in use since ancient times, with its roots traceable to the Avestan language, an ancient Iranian language that dates back to the 2nd millennium BCE.
In ancient Persian mythology, there are references to the name Arvin being associated with heroic figures and warriors. Some scholars believe that the name may have been inspired by the legendary Persian hero Arvan, who was known for his bravery and valor in battle.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Arvin can be found in ancient Persian inscriptions and manuscripts from the Achaemenid Empire (550-330 BCE). One notable individual from this period was Arvin, a Persian nobleman and military commander who served under King Darius the Great.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Arvin. One of the most prominent was Arvin Khan (1554-1619), a Persian military leader and governor who played a significant role in the wars against the Ottoman Empire during the Safavid dynasty.
Another famous Arvin was Arvin Novian (1904-1983), an Iranian poet and writer who is considered one of the most influential figures in modern Persian literature. His works often explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition.
In the realm of science, Arvin Siahpoush (1920-2002) was an Iranian physicist and academic who made significant contributions to the field of nuclear physics. He served as the president of the University of Tehran and was instrumental in establishing Iran's nuclear program.
In the world of sports, Arvin Lashkari (born 1987) is a notable Iranian professional basketball player who has represented his country in international competitions and played for several teams in the Iranian Basketball Super League.
While the name Arvin is not as common in some Western cultures, it has maintained its significance and popularity in Iran and among Persian communities around the world, serving as a reminder of the rich cultural heritage and history associated with this ancient name.
People
Arvin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Arvin 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
Arvin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Arvin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,479 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Arvin 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 98,521 US residents.
Is Arvin a common name?
We classify Arvin as "Rare". It ranks above 95.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,316 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Arvin most popular?
The single biggest year for Arvin was 2017, when 106 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Arvin is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Arvin in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,112 people with the name Arvin, or 1.36 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,503 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 Arvin 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 Arvin?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Arvin appears almost entirely male. Of the 4,099 people counted with this name, 99.2% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Arvin?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Arvin is Asian/Pacific Islander at 41.2%. The next largest groups are White (37.9%) and Black (8.3%). 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 Arvin most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Arvin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 41.2% (1,695 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 Arvin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Arvin a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Arvin 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 Arvin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Arvin 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 Arvin 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 Arvin as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.