Calvan
Of English origin meaning "bald" or "referring to someone born with little hair".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Calvan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Calvan today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Calvan births was 2001 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Calvan. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Calvan. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2001
5 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2001 SSA rank
#10,810
Tracked since 2001
Census
Calvan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 101 people with the first name Calvan, which placed it at #53,227 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
#53,227
National first-name rank
People counted
101
101 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
57.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Calvan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Calvan is White at 57.4%. The next largest groups are Black (23.8%) and Hispanic (6.9%). 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 Calvan 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 Calvan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White57.4% · 58
- Black or African American23.8% · 24
- Hispanic or Latino6.9% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native5.9% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.0% · 4
- Two or more races2.0% · 2
Popularity
Calvan: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Calvan 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 Calvan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Calvan
The name Calvan is believed to have originated from the Gaelic language, with roots traced back to ancient Celtic cultures. It is thought to be derived from the word "calv," which means "bald" or "bare-headed." This association with baldness may have been a reference to a physical characteristic or possibly even a spiritual or philosophical concept related to simplicity or wisdom.
In the early medieval period, the name Calvan was predominantly found in regions with strong Celtic influences, such as Ireland, Scotland, and parts of Wales. It is documented in various historical records and chronicles from these areas, though its exact origins remain somewhat obscure.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Calvan can be found in the Annals of Ulster, an ancient Irish chronicle dating back to the 15th century. Here, a man named Calvan mac Muiredhaigh is mentioned as a notable figure in the year 1027 AD.
Throughout history, several individuals bearing the name Calvan have made their mark across various fields. Calvan of Auxerre, a 9th-century Frankish monk and scholar, is renowned for his contributions to the study of canon law and his influential writings on ecclesiastical matters.
In the 12th century, Calvan ap Gwgon, a Welsh prince and military leader, played a significant role in the conflicts between the Welsh and Norman forces. His bravery and strategic prowess earned him a place in the annals of Welsh history.
During the Renaissance period, Calvan Buonarotti, an Italian sculptor and architect, gained recognition for his works in Florence and Rome. His intricate carvings and architectural designs were highly regarded by his contemporaries.
In the realm of literature, Calvan MacLeish, an American poet and playwright, left an indelible mark with his poetic works and contributions to the Modernist movement in the early 20th century. He was born in 1892 and passed away in 1982.
Another notable figure bearing the name Calvan was Calvan Graham, a British engineer and inventor who lived from 1889 to 1957. He is credited with several groundbreaking innovations in the field of aeronautics, including contributions to the development of early aircraft designs.
While the name Calvan may not be as common today as it once was, its rich history and cultural significance continue to captivate those interested in the origins and meanings of names from ancient times.
People
Calvan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Calvan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Calvan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Calvan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Calvan 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 Calvan a common name?
We classify Calvan 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 Calvan most popular?
The single biggest year for Calvan was 2001, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Calvan is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Calvan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 101 people with the name Calvan, or 0.03 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #53,227 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 Calvan 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 Calvan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Calvan leans strongly male. 104 people counted with this name were male (98.1%), compared with 2 female bearers (1.9%). 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 Calvan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Calvan is White at 57.4%. The next largest groups are Black (23.8%) and Hispanic (6.9%). 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 Calvan most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Calvan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.4% (58 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 Calvan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Calvan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Calvan 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 Calvan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Calvan 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 Calvan 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 Calvan as a first name?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Calvan, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.