Darvis
Derived from Persian meaning "poor but truthful follower of religion".
Name Census estimates that about 358 living Americans carry the first name Darvis. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Darvis today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Darvis births was 1986 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Darvis. 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.
People living today
358
~ 1 in 957,414 Americans
Peak year
1986
17 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2018 SSA rank
#12,593
Tracked since 1944
Census
Darvis in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 277 people with the first name Darvis, which placed it at #31,090 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
#31,090
National first-name rank
People counted
277
277 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
55.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Darvis
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Darvis is Black at 55.6%. The next largest groups are White (25.6%) and Hispanic (16.2%). 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 Darvis 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 Darvis at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American55.6% · 154
- White25.6% · 71
- Hispanic or Latino16.2% · 45
- Two or more races2.2% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Popularity
Darvis: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Darvis from the 1940s through to the 2010s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 125 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Darvis 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 Darvis 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 Darvis
The name Darvis is believed to have originated from the Persian language, with its roots dating back to the ancient Persian civilization. This name is thought to be derived from the Persian word "darvis," which means "poor" or "one who has renounced worldly possessions." The time period of its origin is uncertain, but it is likely to have emerged during the medieval era when Sufism, a mystical branch of Islam, gained prominence in Persia.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Darvis can be found in the works of the renowned Persian poet, Rumi (1207-1273 CE). In his poetic masterpiece, the Masnavi, Rumi often referred to the Dervishes, the followers of the Sufi path, as "Darvis." This suggests that the name was already in use during the 13th century in the Persian cultural sphere.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Darvis. One such figure was Darvis Ali Khan (1668-1717), a prominent military commander and governor of Kandahar during the Mughal Empire. He played a crucial role in defending the region against the Safavid Persian invasions and is remembered for his valor and strategic prowess.
Another individual of historical significance was Darvis Khan Saddozai (1693-1747), a prominent Afghan tribal leader and military commander. He served as the governor of Qandahar and played a vital role in the struggle for power during the decline of the Safavid dynasty in Persia.
In the realm of literature, Darvis Shikoh (1615-1657) was a notable figure. He was the eldest son of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and a renowned scholar, poet, and calligrapher. His literary works and contributions to the arts and culture of the Mughal Empire have been widely celebrated.
Another individual worth mentioning is Darvis Ismail (1826-1920), a renowned Sufi mystic and spiritual leader from what is now modern-day Afghanistan. He was revered for his wisdom, teachings, and his contributions to the spread of Sufism in the region.
While the name Darvis may have originated from the Persian language and culture, it has also been adopted and used in various other cultural contexts over the centuries. However, its roots can be traced back to the ancient Persian civilization and its association with the Sufi tradition and spiritual renunciation.
People
Darvis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Darvis as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Darvis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Darvis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 358 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Darvis 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 957,414 US residents.
Is Darvis a common name?
We classify Darvis as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 389 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Darvis most popular?
The single biggest year for Darvis was 1986, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Darvis is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Darvis in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 277 people with the name Darvis, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #31,090 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 Darvis 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 Darvis?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Darvis leans strongly male. 263 people counted with this name were male (95.6%), compared with 12 female bearers (4.4%). 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 Darvis?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Darvis is Black at 55.6%. The next largest groups are White (25.6%) and Hispanic (16.2%). 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 Darvis most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Darvis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.6% (154 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 Darvis in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Darvis a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Darvis 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 Darvis still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Darvis 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 Darvis 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 Darvis as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Darvis, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.