Calvyn
A masculine name of French origin meaning "small bald one".
Name Census estimates that about 104 living Americans carry the first name Calvyn. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Calvyn today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Calvyn births was 2010 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Calvyn. 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 Calvyn with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
104
~ 1 in 3,295,715 Americans
Peak year
2010
10 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2019 SSA rank
#12,459
Tracked since 1998
Popularity
Calvyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Calvyn from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 63 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Calvyn 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 Calvyn 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 Calvyn
The name Calvyn is a variant spelling of the more common name Calvin, which has its origins in the Latin name Calvinus. Calvinus is derived from the Latin word "calvus," meaning "bald" or "hairless." The earliest recorded use of the name Calvinus dates back to ancient Rome, where it was likely used as a nickname or a descriptive name.
During the Middle Ages, the name Calvin gained popularity in France and other parts of Europe. It was particularly favored among the French Huguenots, a Protestant group that emerged during the Protestant Reformation. One of the most notable historical figures associated with the name Calvin is John Calvin, the influential 16th-century French theologian and reformer who was a key figure in the Protestant Reformation. He was born in 1509 and died in 1564.
Another notable historical figure with the name Calvin was Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President of the United States. He was born in 1872 and served as president from 1923 to 1929. Coolidge was known for his conservative economic policies and his emphasis on fiscal responsibility.
In the world of literature, Calvin is also the name of the mischievous and imaginative protagonist in the comic strip "Calvin and Hobbes," created by Bill Watterson. The strip, which ran from 1985 to 1995, followed the adventures of Calvin and his stuffed tiger, Hobbes.
In the field of science, Calvin Bridges was an American geneticist and biologist who made significant contributions to the study of fruit flies and genetic inheritance. He lived from 1889 to 1938 and is best known for his work on non-disjunction and the inheritance of sex-linked traits.
Finally, Calvin Klein is a famous American fashion designer who founded the Calvin Klein clothing company in 1968. He was born in 1942 and is known for his minimalist and understated designs, as well as his successful line of fragrances and other lifestyle products.
People
Calvyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Calvyn 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
Calvyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Calvyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 104 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Calvyn 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 3,295,715 US residents.
Is Calvyn a common name?
We classify Calvyn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 105 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Calvyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Calvyn was 2010, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Calvyn is about 16 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 Calvyn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Calvyn a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Calvyn 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 Calvyn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Calvyn 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 Calvyn 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 share the name Calvyn?
Find out how many Americans are named Calvyn on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.