Ervan
A Persian name meaning "brave, noble", popularized in Albanian cultures.
Name Census estimates that about 53 living Americans carry the first name Ervan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ervan today is around 79 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ervan births was 1918 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ervan. 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
- • The typical person named Ervan is about 79 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Ervans were born before 1957.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ervan. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
53
~ 1 in 6,467,063 Americans
Peak year
1918
14 babies that year
Average age
79
years old
1966 SSA rank
#4,122
Tracked since 1913
Census
Ervan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 145 people with the first name Ervan, which placed it at #46,211 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
#46,211
National first-name rank
People counted
145
145 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
55.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ervan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ervan is White at 55.9%. The next largest groups are Black (31.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.5%). 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 Ervan 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 Ervan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White55.9% · 81
- Black or African American31.7% · 46
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.5% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino4.8% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.1% · 3
Popularity
Ervan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ervan from the 1910s through to the 1960s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 73 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
Ervan 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 Ervan 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 Ervan
The name Ervan has its origins in the ancient Armenian language, dating back to the 5th century AD. It is derived from the Armenian word "ervand," which means "he who rises" or "the rising one." This name was popular among the noble families of the Armenian Kingdom and was often associated with strength, courage, and resilience.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Ervan can be found in the Armenian chronicles of the 7th century, where it is noted that an Armenian prince named Ervan led a successful rebellion against the Byzantine Empire. This event solidified the name's association with bravery and leadership.
Throughout the medieval period, the name Ervan was particularly popular in the regions of historic Armenia, spanning modern-day Turkey, Iran, and parts of the Caucasus region. Several notable figures bore this name, including Ervan Nakhapetian (1070-1124), a revered Armenian scientist and philosopher who made significant contributions to the fields of astronomy and mathematics.
In the 12th century, an Armenian king named Ervan II ruled over the Kingdom of Cilicia, a powerful Armenian state located in modern-day Turkey. His reign was marked by military victories and the expansion of Armenian influence in the region, further cementing the name's association with strength and leadership.
Another prominent figure in Armenian history was Ervan Lalayants (1863-1933), a renowned writer, poet, and activist who played a pivotal role in the Armenian literary renaissance of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His works often explored themes of Armenian identity, culture, and the struggle for independence.
Beyond the Armenian context, the name Ervan has also appeared in various literary works and historical accounts. For instance, in the epic poem "The Daredevils of Sassoun," a legendary Armenian hero named Ervan is depicted as a fearless warrior and protector of his people.
While the name Ervan has its roots in Armenian culture, it has also been adopted and adapted in other parts of the world, particularly among Armenian diaspora communities. Notable individuals with this name include Ervan Darnell (1832-1920), an American artist and painter known for his landscape works, and Ervan Rodríguez (1957-2000), a Venezuelan baseball player who played for several Major League Baseball teams in the 1980s and 1990s.
People
Ervan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ervan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ervan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ervan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 53 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ervan 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 6,467,063 US residents.
Is Ervan a common name?
We classify Ervan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 55.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 237 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ervan most popular?
The single biggest year for Ervan was 1918, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ervan is about 79 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ervan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 145 people with the name Ervan, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #46,211 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 Ervan 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 Ervan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ervan appears almost entirely male. Of the 149 people counted with this name, 99.3% 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 Ervan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ervan is White at 55.9%. The next largest groups are Black (31.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.5%). 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 Ervan most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ervan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.9% (81 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 Ervan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ervan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ervan 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 Ervan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ervan 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 Ervan 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 named Ervan?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.