Dervin
An English name of unknown meaning and origin.
Name Census estimates that about 173 living Americans carry the first name Dervin. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dervin today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dervin births was 2014 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dervin. 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
173
~ 1 in 1,981,239 Americans
Peak year
2014
11 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2023 SSA rank
#9,116
Tracked since 1953
Census
Dervin in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 322 people with the first name Dervin, which placed it at #28,067 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
#28,067
National first-name rank
People counted
322
322 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
42.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dervin
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dervin is Black at 42.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (34.5%) and White (18.9%). 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 Dervin 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 Dervin at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American42.9% · 138
- Hispanic or Latino34.5% · 111
- White18.9% · 61
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.4% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Popularity
Dervin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dervin from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 40 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Dervin remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dervin 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 Dervin 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 Dervin
The name Dervin is believed to have originated from the Gaelic language, which was spoken in Ireland and parts of Scotland. It is derived from the Gaelic words "dearb", meaning "firm" or "assured", and "fionn", which means "fair" or "white". Together, these elements suggest a meaning along the lines of "firm and fair" or "assured and white".
The earliest known recorded use of the name Dervin dates back to the 8th century CE, when it appeared in ancient Irish annals and manuscripts. These early references suggest that the name was likely in use among Celtic populations in Ireland and Scotland during that time period.
One of the earliest known historical figures to bear the name Dervin was an Irish chieftain and warrior who lived in the 9th century CE. Records from that era mention him leading battles against Viking raiders along the Irish coast.
In the 11th century, a Benedictine monk named Dervin was known for his scholarly work and contributions to the preservation of ancient texts. He was based at a monastery in Kildare, Ireland.
During the 12th century, a notable figure named Dervin mac Murchadha was a prominent leader and military commander in the kingdom of Leinster, Ireland. He played a role in various conflicts and power struggles of that era.
In the 15th century, a Scottish nobleman named Dervin Douglas was recorded as serving as a trusted advisor and diplomat to King James II of Scotland.
Another individual named Dervin O'Flaherty was a 16th century Irish poet and bard who composed works in the Gaelic tradition, many of which have been preserved in historical records and manuscripts.
While the name Dervin has its roots in ancient Celtic cultures, it has maintained a presence throughout various periods of history, appearing in records and accounts associated with notable figures from Ireland, Scotland, and other regions influenced by Gaelic language and traditions.
People
Dervin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dervin 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
Dervin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dervin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 173 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dervin 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 1,981,239 US residents.
Is Dervin a common name?
We classify Dervin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 181 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dervin most popular?
The single biggest year for Dervin was 2014, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dervin is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dervin in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 322 people with the name Dervin, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,067 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 Dervin 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 Dervin?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dervin leans strongly male. 312 people counted with this name were male (95.1%), compared with 16 female bearers (4.9%). 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 Dervin?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dervin is Black at 42.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (34.5%) and White (18.9%). 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 Dervin most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Dervin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 42.9% (138 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 Dervin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dervin a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dervin 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 Dervin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dervin 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 Dervin 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 Americans are named Dervin?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.