Calven
Variant of Calvin, derived from Latin meaning "hairless" or "bald one".
Name Census estimates that about 70 living Americans carry the first name Calven. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Calven today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Calven births was 1921 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Calven. 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 Calven. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
70
~ 1 in 4,896,491 Americans
Peak year
1921
10 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
2013 SSA rank
#9,811
Tracked since 1921
Census
Calven in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 176 people with the first name Calven, which placed it at #41,537 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
#41,537
National first-name rank
People counted
176
176 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
38.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Calven
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Calven is White at 38.6%. The next largest groups are Black (34.7%) and Hispanic (10.8%). 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 Calven 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 Calven at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White38.6% · 68
- Black or African American34.7% · 61
- Hispanic or Latino10.8% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander10.2% · 18
- Two or more races4.5% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 2
Popularity
Calven: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Calven from the 1920s through to the 2010s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 57 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
Calven 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 Calven 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 Calven
The name Calven is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "calfe," which means "calf" or "young cow." It likely emerged as a surname during the Middle Ages, given to individuals who worked as cowherd or had some association with calves or cattle farming.
In the early medieval period, surnames were often derived from occupations, physical characteristics, or locations. The name Calven may have initially referred to someone who tended calves or worked with cattle, or it could have been a descriptive name for someone with a perceived resemblance to a calf.
The earliest recorded use of Calven as a given name dates back to the 16th century, although it was relatively uncommon during this time. One of the earliest known individuals with this name was Calven Grayle, born in 1537 in Gloucestershire, England, who was a farmer and landowner.
In the 17th century, the name gained some popularity among English Puritans, who often chose biblical or virtue-based names for their children. While Calven is not directly derived from the Bible, it may have been seen as a virtuous name due to its association with pastoral and agricultural themes.
One notable figure from this era was Calven Wilkinson, born in 1663 in Yorkshire, England. He was a Quaker preacher and author known for his religious writings and advocacy for pacifism during the English Civil War.
In the 18th century, Calven remained a relatively uncommon name, but a few individuals of note bore this name. Calven Esteridge, born in 1712 in Lincolnshire, England, was a renowned clockmaker and inventor known for his innovative timepiece designs.
During the 19th century, the name Calven saw a slight resurgence in popularity, particularly in the United States. Calven Coolidge, born in 1845 in Vermont, was a successful businessman and the father of Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President of the United States.
Another notable figure from this era was Calven Brewster, born in 1823 in Massachusetts. He was a prolific writer and journalist who covered the American Civil War and later served as a diplomat in Europe.
As the 20th century progressed, the name Calven became increasingly rare, perhaps due to the popularity of the similar-sounding name Calvin, which is derived from the Latin word "calvus," meaning "bald."
People
Calven + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Calven 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
Calven: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Calven?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 70 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Calven 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 4,896,491 US residents.
Is Calven a common name?
We classify Calven as "Very Rare". It ranks above 59.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 155 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Calven most popular?
The single biggest year for Calven was 1921, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Calven is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Calven in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 176 people with the name Calven, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #41,537 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 Calven 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 Calven?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Calven appears almost entirely male. Of the 169 people counted with this name, 99.4% 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 Calven?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Calven is White at 38.6%. The next largest groups are Black (34.7%) and Hispanic (10.8%). 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 Calven most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Calven in the 2020 Census, accounting for 38.6% (68 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 Calven in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Calven a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Calven 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 Calven still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Calven 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 Calven 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 are called Calven?
You can see how many Americans are named Calven on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.