The name Ervin is of German origin, deriving from the Old Germanic elements "arn," meaning eagle, and "wine," meaning friend. It first emerged in the Middle Ages, around the 9th or 10th century AD, as a personal name among German-speaking populations in central Europe.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ervin can be found in the Codex Traditionum Westfalicarium, a medieval manuscript from the 9th century that documents legal transactions and property transfers in the region of Westphalia, modern-day Germany. The name appears as "Aruuinus," an early variant spelling.

In the 12th century, the name Ervin surfaced in the Nibelungenlied, a renowned German epic poem that recounts legends of dragon-slayers and Rhine River heroes. One of the minor characters in the tale bears the name Erwin, a close variant of Ervin.

Throughout the Middle Ages and into the Renaissance period, the name Ervin remained predominantly used in German-speaking regions, though it also spread to neighboring areas. Notable historical figures who bore this first name include Ervin of Steinbach, a 13th-century German architect and stonemason who oversaw the construction of the iconic Strasbourg Cathedral in modern-day France.

In the 16th century, Ervin Bodecker, a German theologian and reformer, played a role in the Protestant Reformation, publishing works that criticized the practices of the Catholic Church at the time. He lived from 1497 to 1553.

During the 18th century, Ervin Sándor, a Hungarian nobleman and military officer, distinguished himself in battles against the Ottoman Empire, serving under the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI. He was born in 1690 and died in 1768.

Another notable bearer of the name was Ervin Bauer, an Austrian painter and illustrator active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was renowned for his landscape paintings and illustrations in children's books, living from 1857 to 1925.